Flexible content selection processes using secure multi-party computation

ABSTRACT

This document relates to using secure MPC to select digital components in ways that preserve user privacy and protects the security of data of each party that is involved in the selection process. In one aspect, a method includes receiving, by a first server of a secure MPC system from a client device, a digital component request. The first server identifies, for each digital component in a set, a selection value and a priority tier. For each tier, the first server determines, using a secure MPC process in collaboration with one or more second servers of the secure MPC system, a first secret share of a winner parameter for each digital component in the priority tier. The first server identifies a highest tier for which a given digital component has a winner parameter that indicates that the given digital component is a winning digital component.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This specification is related to cryptography and data security.

BACKGROUND

Secure multi-party computation (MPC) is a family of cryptographicprotocols that prevents access to data by distributing a computationacross multiple parties such that no individual party can access anotherparty's data or intermediate computed values, while outputs are releasedonly to designated parties. The MPC computing systems typically performthe computations using secret shares or other encrypted forms of thedata and secure exchange of information between the parties.

SUMMARY

In general, one innovative aspect of the subject matter described inthis specification can be embodied in methods that include receiving, bya first server of a secure multi-party computation (MPC) system and froma client device, a digital component request; identifying, for eachdigital component in a set of digital components, a selection value forthe digital component and a priority tier for the digital component; foreach of multiple priority tiers: determining, using a secure MPC processin collaboration with one or more second servers of the secure MPCsystem, a first secret share of a winner parameter for each digitalcomponent in the priority tier, including: determining, for each digitalcomponent in the priority tier, a first secret share of a candidateparameter that indicates whether the digital component is a candidatefor selection; and determining a secret share of the winner parameterfor each digital component in the priority tier based on (i) a firstsecret share of the value of the candidate parameter for each digitalcomponent in the priority tier, (ii) one or more second secret shares ofthe candidate parameter for each digital component in the priority tier,and the selection value for each digital component in the priority tier;identifying a highest tier of the plurality of tiers for which a givendigital component has a winner parameter that indicates that the givendigital component is a winning digital component for the tier; andproviding, to the client device, a first secret share of a selectionresult identifying the given digital component. Other implementations ofthis aspect include corresponding apparatus, systems, and computerprograms, configured to perform the aspects of the methods, encoded oncomputer storage devices.

These and other implementations can each optionally include one or moreof the following features. In some aspects, determining, using thesecure MPC process in collaboration with one or more second servers ofthe secure MPC system, the first secret share of the winner parameterfor each digital component in the priority tier includes determining thefirst secret share of the winner parameter for each digital component ineach priority tier in parallel. This embodiment is particularlyadvantageous since this can improve the speed at which the overalldigital content selection process is performed.

In some aspects, determining, using the secure MPC process incollaboration with one or more second servers of the secure MPC system,the first secret share of the winner parameter for each digitalcomponent in the priority tier includes determining the first secretshare of the winner parameter for each digital component in eachpriority tier in a sequence from a highest priority tier to a lowestpriority tier. This embodiment is particularly advantageous insituations where the speed of the process is not critical. Instead, thisparticular embodiment makes efficient use of computational resources byavoiding wasted computations for lower priority tiers if a higherpriority tier includes a winning digital component.

In some aspects, determining, for each digital component in the prioritytier, a first secret share of a candidate parameter that indicateswhether the digital component is a candidate for selection includesdetermining, in collaboration with each of the one or more secondservers, the first secret share of the candidate parameter for aparticular digital component based on secret shares for one or moreconditions for the particular digital component.

In some aspects, identifying, for each digital component in the set ofdigital components, the selection value for the digital componentincludes identifying, for a given content platform, a boost establishedby a publisher of an electronic resource for which the digital componentrequest was received or a content platform for the publisher andadjusting the selection value for each digital component of the contentplatform using the boost.

Some aspects include identifying a selection value floor established bya publisher of an electronic resource for which the digital componentrequest was received and filtering, from the set of digital components,one or more digital components having a selection value that is lessthan the selection value floor. Those digital components that arefiltered from the set of digital components may correspond tounnecessary and/or irrelevant digital components (because they have aselection value lower than the floor value). Filtering out unnecessarydigital components in this way can therefore reduce network bandwidthusage and computational resource usage, thereby making the overallcontent selection process more efficient.

In some aspects, determining a secret share of the winner parameter foreach digital component in the priority tier includes ordering thedigital components in the priority tier based on the selection value foreach digital component in the priority tier, determining, a first secretshare of an accumulated value for each digital component in the tierbased at least on the order and the first secret share of the candidateparameter for each digital component in the priority tier, wherein theaccumulated value for a digital component indicates a quantity ofcandidate digital components in the priority tier having a higherselection value than the digital component, and for each digitalcomponent in the priority tier, determining the first secret share ofthe winner parameter for the digital component based on the first secretshare of the candidate parameter for the digital component, each of theone or more second secret shares of the candidate parameter for thedigital component, and the accumulated value for the digital component.Some aspects include determining a second selection value correspondingto a second value selection process, including determining, for eachpriority tier, a first secret share of a winning tier parameter thatrepresents whether the given digital component is included in thepriority tier, determining, for each digital component in the set ofdigital components, a first secret share of a second selection valueparameter that represents whether the selection value for the digitalcomponent might be second highest selection value among a set ofcandidate digital components, identifying, as the second selectionvalue, a selection value for a digital component for which (i) thecandidate parameter for the digital component indicates that the digitalcomponent is a candidate for selection, (ii) the winning tier parameterindicates that the given digital component is included in the winningtier, and (iii) the second selection value parameter that indicates thatthe selection value for the digital component might be second highestselection value among a set of candidate digital components.

The subject matter described in this specification can be implemented inparticular embodiments so as to realize one or more of the followingadvantages. Using a secure MPC process performed by two or more MPCservers operated by different parties to select digital components basedon shares of user information ensures that the user information cannotbe accessed in cleartext by either MPC server or another party absentunauthorized collusion between the MPC servers. In this way, as long asat least one MPC server is honest, user data privacy is preserved.

In a digital component selection process, the MPC servers can selectfrom eligible digital components that satisfy one or more eligibilityconditions while preventing the parties from accessing user informationin cleartext. The eligibility conditions can include restrictions andguidelines on the manner or frequency of distribution of a digitalcomponent, among other factors. The conditions can include user groupmembership, frequency control, muting (e.g., user blocking), k-anonymityfor preventing micro-targeting of users, and/or pacing and budgetconstraints.

As the selection of digital components is an online process thattypically occurs at the time that content is being loaded at a clientdevice, it is important that this process be completed quickly, e.g.,within milliseconds. The techniques described in this document enhancesthe speed at which digital components are selected by reducing the sizeof data transmitted between the client device and the MPC cluster, byreducing the computational resources required by the MPC cluster, and byreducing the number of roundtrip communications/computations performedby the servers of the MPC cluster and the size of data transmittedbetween the servers. The reduction in data size between the clientdevice and server also reduces network bandwidth consumption and batteryconsumption of the client device, e.g., if the client device is a mobiledevice running on battery power.

A client device of a user can generate a probabilistic data structure,e.g., a cuckoo filter or a Bloom filter, that represents user groupsthat includes the user as a member and can provide the probabilisticdata structure, or data that represents the probabilistic datastructure, to the servers of the MPC cluster. Using probabilistic datastructures in this way protects user privacy and maintains data securityby preventing access to the user's group membership, and reduces thesize of the information provided to the MPC cluster as probabilisticdata structures are compact representations of sets of data. The datarepresenting the probabilistic data structure can be generated and sentto the MPC servers such that no party that receives only a portion ofthe data can access the user group membership of a user without eitherhaving the other portions or collaborating with the other MPC servers,e.g., using a secure MPC process. The reduction in data size reduces theamount of bandwidth consumed to transmit the information, reduces thelatency in transmitting the information, and reduces the amount ofprocessing power and associated battery power for devices running onbatteries (e.g., mobile devices) required to transmit the information.

The MPC cluster can transmit secret shares of a result that identifies aselected digital component that the MPC cluster selected using thesecure MPC process. By sending secret shares of a result for onlyselected digital components rather than information for all or a largeset of digital components similarly reduces latency and consumedbandwidth, processing power, and battery power in transmitting andreceiving the result. This also reduces the potential leakage ofconfidential information of content platforms that submit selectionvalues for digital components to the MPC cluster by limiting the numberof digital components for which information is provided to the clientdevice.

Reducing the latency in content presentation also reduces the number oferrors that occur at user devices while waiting for such content toarrive. As the content often needs to be provided in milliseconds and tomobile devices connected by wireless networks, reducing the latency inselecting and providing the content is critical in preventing errors andreducing user frustration.

The secure MPC techniques described in this document are flexible andsupport different types of selection processes and/or additionalselection process features, such as floors, tiers, and/or boosts. Thesecure MPC techniques described in this document enable such featureswhile still preserving user privacy and data security. When tiers areused, multiple selection processes can be performed in parallel toreduce the latency in selection of digital components or in sequence toreduce unnecessary computations. Metrics that can be used to improve theefficiency of digital component selection processes can be aggregatedand reported to appropriate parties in ways that preserve user privacy.

The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter describedin this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of thesubject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings,and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an environment in which an MPC clusterperforms secure MPC processes to select digital components fordistribution to client devices.

FIG. 2 shows an example data flow within the environment of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example process for selecting a digitalcomponent for distribution to a client device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example process for selecting a digitalcomponent for distribution to a client device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example process for selecting a digitalcomponent for distribution to a client device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an example process for determining a highestother selection value for digital components in a digital componentselection process.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an example process for determining adifference between a first selection value of a real digital componentselection process and a counterfactual digital component selectionprocess.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an example process for determining whether auser is a member of a user group using a Bloom filter sent using secretshares.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example MPC computing system.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an example computer system.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In general, this document describes systems and techniques for usingsecure MPC to select digital components in ways that preserve userprivacy and protects the security of data of each party that is involvedin the selection process. Enhancements to the selection process supportmultiple variations of the digital component selection processes,providing flexibility to content publishers and content platforms thatmanage the selection of digital components, while maintaining userprivacy and data security. For example, MPC clusters described in thisdocument can perform secure digital component selection processes thatinclude tiers, selection value boosts, first value selection processes,second value selection processes, and/or a combination of one or more ofthese variations. The techniques described in this document allow forsuch flexibility, privacy preservation, and data security while stillproviding digital components in short time periods, e.g., withinmilliseconds, after a request is received and while minimizing the sizeof data sent to and from the client device that displays the digitalcomponent.

The MPC cluster can also generate information, e.g., metrics, based oncompleted selection processes that can be used to further enhance futuredigital component selection processes. This information can be generatedusing secure MPC such that user data and data for publishers and/orcontent platforms is not accessible absent unauthorized collusionbetween the servers of the MPC cluster and/or other parties. Theinformation can be reported to the appropriate parties in encryptedform, e.g., as secret shares, such that only the recipient can accessthe information in cleartext. To protect user privacy, in someimplementations, the intended recipient can access the information incleartext with differential privacy noise applied, and/or in aggregatedforms. Cleartext is text that is not computationally tagged, speciallyformatted, or written in code, or data, including binary files, in aform that can be viewed or used without requiring a key or otherdecryption device, or other decryption process.

In this document, some computations performed over secret shares by theMPC cluster are shown as being products or sums of secret share values.To increase the speed at which these computations are performed,multiplications can be performed in secret shares using AND operations,e.g., bitwise-AND, and additions can be performed in secret shares usingXOR operations, e.g., bitwise-XOR operations. In some cases, when onecleartext integer is multiplied by a secret share representing zero orone in Z2 (i.e., the sum of the two shares modulo 2 is either zero orone), no multiplication or bitwise-AND is needed. Instead, eachcomputing system can evaluate its share and return the integer if itsshare is one and zero if its share is zero.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an environment 100 in which an MPC cluster130 performs secure MPC processes to select digital components fordistribution to client devices 110. The MPC cluster 130 also generatesinformation for completed digital component selection processes andprovides the information to the appropriate parties.

The example environment 100 includes a data communication network 105,such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), theInternet, a mobile network, or a combination thereof. The network 105connects the client devices 110, the secure MPC cluster 130, publishers140, websites 142, and content platforms, e.g., supply-side platforms(SSPs) 170 and demand-side platforms (DSPs) 150. The example environment100 can include many different client devices 110, secure MPC clusters130, publishers 140, websites 142, DSPs 150, and SSPs 170.

A website 142 includes one or more electronic resources 145. Theresources 145 can be associated with a domain name and hosted by one ormore servers. An example website is a collection of web pages formattedin hypertext markup language (HTML) that can contain text, images,multimedia content, and programming elements, such as scripts. Eachwebsite 142 is maintained by a content publisher 140, which is an entitythat controls, manages and/or owns the website 142.

A resource 145 is any data that can be provided by the publisher 140over the network 105 and can be associated with a resource address.Resources include HTML pages, word processing documents, and portabledocument format (PDF) documents, images, video, and feed sources, toname just a few. The resources 145 can include content, such as words,phrases, pictures, and so on, and may include embedded information(e.g., meta information and hyperlinks) and/or embedded instructions,e.g., scripts.

A client device 110 is an electronic device that is capable ofcommunicating over the network 105. Example client devices 110 includepersonal computers, mobile communication devices, e.g., smart phones,and other devices that can send and receive data over the network 105. Aclient device 110 can also include a digital assistant device thataccepts audio input through a microphone and outputs audio outputthrough speakers. The digital assistant can be placed into listen mode(e.g., ready to accept audio input) when the digital assistant detects a“hotword” or “hotphrase” that activates the microphone to accept audioinput. The digital assistant device can also include a camera and/ordisplay to capture images and visually present information. The digitalassistant can be implemented in different forms of hardware devicesincluding, a wearable device (e.g., watch or glasses), a smart phone, aspeaker device, a tablet device, or another hardware device. A clientdevice 110 can also include a digital media device, e.g., a streamingdevice that plugs into a television or other display to stream videos tothe television, a gaming system, or a virtual reality system.

A client device 110 typically includes applications 112, such as webbrowsers and/or native applications, to facilitate the sending andreceiving of data over the network 105. A native application is anapplication developed for a particular platform or a particular device,e.g., for mobile devices having a particular operating system.Publishers 140 can develop and provide, e.g., make available fordownload, native applications to the client devices 110. A web browsercan request a resource 145 from a web server that hosts a website 142 ofa publisher 140, e.g., in response to the user of the client device 110entering the resource address for the resource 145 in an address bar ofthe web browser or selecting a link that references the resourceaddress. Similarly, a native application can request application contentfrom a remote server of a publisher.

Some resources, application pages, or other application content caninclude digital component slots for displaying digital components withthe resources 145 or application pages. As used throughout thisdocument, the phrase “digital component” refers to a discrete unit ofdigital content or digital information (e.g., a video clip, audio clip,multimedia clip, image, text, or another unit of content). A digitalcomponent can electronically be stored in a physical memory device as asingle file or in a collection of files, and digital components can takethe form of video files, audio files, multimedia files, image files, ortext files and include advertising information, such that anadvertisement is a type of digital component. For example, the digitalcomponent may be content that is intended to supplement content of a webpage, application content (e.g., an application page), or other resourcedisplayed by the application 112. More specifically, the digitalcomponent may include digital content that is relevant to the resourcecontent, e.g., the digital component may relate to the same topic as theweb page content, or to a related topic. The provision of digitalcomponents can thus supplement, and generally enhance, the web page orapplication content.

When the application 112 loads a resource (or application content) thatincludes one or more digital component slots, the application 112 canrequest a digital component for each slot. In some implementations, thedigital component slot can include code, e.g., one or more scripts,that, when processed by the application 112, cause the application 112to request a digital component for display to a user of the clientdevice 110. As described below, the application 112 can request digitalcomponents from the MPC cluster 130 and/or one or more SSPs 170.

Some publishers 140 use an SSP 170 to manage the process of obtainingdigital components for digital component slots of its resources 145and/or applications 112. An SSP 170 is a technology platform implementedin hardware and/or software that automates the process of obtainingdigital components for the resources and/or applications. Each publisher140 can have a corresponding SSP 170 or multiple SSPs 170. Somepublishers 140 may use the same SSP 170.

Digital component providers 160 can create (or otherwise publish)digital components that are displayed in digital component slots ofpublishers' resources 145 and applications 112. For example, a digitalcomponent provider 160 can create digital components that includecontent related to the digital component provider 160. In a particularexample, a digital component of a product manufacturer can includecontent related to the product.

The digital component providers 160 can use a DSP 150 to manage theprovisioning of its digital components for display in digital componentslots. A DSP 150 is a technology platform implemented in hardware and/orsoftware that automates the process of distributing digital componentsfor display with the resources and/or applications. A DSP 150 caninteract with multiple SSPs 170 on behalf of digital component providers160 to provide digital components for display with the resources 145and/or applications 112 of multiple different publishers 140. Ingeneral, a DSP 150 can receive requests for digital components (e.g.,from an SSP 170), generate (or select) a selection value for one or moredigital components created by one or more digital component providers160 based on the request, and provide data related to the digitalcomponent (e.g., the digital component itself or code that enables thedigital component to be downloaded) and the selection parameter to anSSP 170. The selection value can indicate an amount that the digitalcomponent provider 160 is willing to provide for display or userinteraction with the digital component. The SSP 170 can then select adigital component for display at a client device 110 and provide, to theclient device 110, data that causes the client device 110 to display thedigital component, e.g., by providing the digital component or the codethat enables download of the digital component. As described in moredetail below, the MPC cluster 130 can select digital components for theclient device 110 to display in a manner that preserves user privacy.

In some cases, it is beneficial to a user to receive digital componentsrelated to web pages, application pages, or other electronic resourcespreviously visited and/or interacted with by the user. In order todistribute such digital components to users, the users can be assignedto user groups, e.g., user interest groups for users interested in thesame or similar topics, cohorts of similar users, or other group typesinvolving similar user data. The users can be assigned to user groupswhen the users visit particular resources or perform particular actionsat the resource (e.g., interact with a particular item displayed on aweb page or add the item to a virtual cart). The user groups can begenerated and updated by the digital component providers 160. That is,each digital component provider 160 can assign users to their usergroups when the users visit electronic resources of the digitalcomponent providers 160. The user groups can also be created by and/orupdated by the content platforms, e.g., by DSPs 150 and/or SSPs 170.

To protect user privacy, a user's group membership can be maintained atthe user's client device 110, e.g., by one of the applications 112, theoperating system of the client device 110, or another trusted programrather than by a digital component provider, content platform, or otherparty. In a particular example, a trusted program (e.g., a web browseror the operating system can maintain a list of user group identifiers(“user group list”) for a user using the web browser or anotherapplication (e.g., for a user logged into the browser, application, orthe client device 110). The user group list can include a user groupidentifier for each user group that includes the user as a member. Thedigital component providers 160 or content platforms that create theuser groups can specify the user group identifiers for their usergroups. The user group identifier for a user group can be descriptive ofthe group (e.g., gardening group) or a code that represents the group(e.g., an alphanumeric sequence that is not descriptive). The user grouplist for a user can be stored in secure storage at the client device 110and/or can be encrypted when stored to prevent others from accessing thelist.

When the application 112 displays a resource (e.g., web page),application content, or digital component related to a digital componentprovider 160, the resource, application content, or digital componentcan request that the application 112 add one or more user groupidentifiers to the user group list. In response, the application 112 canadd the one or more user group identifiers to the user group list andstore the user group list securely. For example, a web page at which auser selects to view more information about a particular item can addthe user to a user group related to the particular item.

In some implementations, the MPC cluster 130 can use the user groupmembership of a user to select digital components that may be ofinterest to the user or may be beneficial to the user/user device inanother way. For example, such digital components or other content mayinclude data that improves a user experience, improves the running of auser device, or benefits the user or client device 110 in some otherway. However, the user group identifiers of the user group list of auser can be provided and used to select digital components in ways thatprevent the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 of the MPC cluster 130 fromaccessing the user group identifiers for the user in cleartext, therebypreserving user privacy when using user group membership data to selectdigital components. The MPC cluster 130 can also use other conditions toselect digital components, as described in more detail below.

The secure MPC cluster 130 includes two computing systems MPC1 and MPC2that perform secure MPC processes to select digital components fordistribution to client devices of users based on the user's groupmembership, but without accessing the group membership or other userinformation, or signals derived from such user information, incleartext. Although the example MPC cluster 130 includes two computingsystems, more computing systems can also be used as long as the MPCcluster 130 includes more than one computing system. For example, theMPC cluster 130 can include three computing systems, four computingsystems, or another appropriate number of computing systems. Using morecomputing systems in the MPC cluster 130 can provide more security, butcan also increase the complexity of the MPC processes. Each computingsystem can be a server or other appropriate type of computer. An examplearchitecture for an MPC computing system is shown in FIG. 9 .

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can be operated by differententities. In this way, each entity may not have access to the users'group membership, or other user information, or signals derived fromsuch user information, in cleartext. For example, one of the computingsystems MPC1 or MPC2 can be operated by a trusted party different fromthe users, the publishers 140, the DSPs 150, the SSPs 170, and thedigital component providers 160. For example, an industry group,governmental group, or browser developer can maintain and operate one ofthe computing systems MPC1 and MPC2. The other computing system can beoperated by a different one of these groups, such that a differenttrusted party operates each computing system MPC1 and MPC2.Advantageously, the different parties operating the different computingsystems MPC1 and MPC2 may have no incentive to collude to endanger userprivacy. In some implementations, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2are separated architecturally and are monitored to not communicate witheach other outside of performing the secure MPC processes described inthis document.

Each computing system MPC1 and MPC2 can store digital components (e.g.,the creatives for the digital components), selection values for digitalcomponents, and other information for digital components. For example,the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can cache selection valuespreviously received from SSPs 170 and/or DSPs 150 as part of previousdigital component selection processes or that are otherwise provided tothe computing systems MPC1 and MPC2, e.g., that are provided in advancefor use in digital component selection processes. In this way, the MPCcluster 130 can use the selection values to select digital componentsfor distribution to client devices 110 in response to future digitalcomponent requests received from client devices 110. A digital componentfor which a selection value and other information is stored by the MPCcluster 130 for digital component selection processes can be referred toas a stored digital component in this document. However, the digitalcomponent itself is not necessarily stored by the MPC cluster 130.Instead, the MPC cluster 130 can store data, e.g., code that referencesa network location from which the digital component can be downloaded,for each stored digital component. In some implementations, the digitalcomponent itself is stored, and is returned to the application 112directly, by the MPC cluster 130. Such implementation reduces the needfor application 112 to fetch the digital components, and/or otherinformation for digital components, in additional requests that mayconsume battery and bandwidth of the device, and may leak additionalsignals for the server hosting the digital component itself to track thedevice.

For each stored digital component, each computing system MPC1 and MPC2can store a selection value or a vector of values that can be used bythe computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 to determine a selection value forthe digital component. Each computing system MPC1 and MPC2 can alsostore, for each digital component, condition data that definescondition(s) that must be met for the digital component to be aneligible candidate for a given digital component selection process. Astored digital component can have zero or more corresponding conditions.

One example condition is that the user to which a selected digitalcomponent will be provided is a member of a user group corresponding tothe stored digital component. This condition can be referred to as auser group membership condition. In this example, the computing systemsMPC1 and MPC2 can store, for a stored digital component, a set of one ormore user group identifiers that correspond to the digital component.These user group identifiers identify the user groups for which thestored digital component can be provided. That is, the stored digitalcomponent is only a candidate for a digital component selection processthat is performed to select a digital component to provide to a userthat is a member of at least one of the user groups identified by theset of one or more user group identifiers for the stored digitalcomponent.

Another example condition for a stored digital component is a frequencycap condition that indicates that the digital component, or digitalcomponents of a particular category, can only be provided to the sameuser a maximum number of times over a given time duration. Anotherexample condition for a digital component is a blocked digital componentcondition that indicates that the digital component has been blocked,e.g., muted, by a user. For these example conditions, the computingsystems MPC1 and MPC2 can receive from store, for each of multipleusers, a probabilistic data structure, e.g., a cuckoo filter or Bloomfilter, that represents digital components that cannot be provided tothe user. For example, the probabilistic data structure can representuniversal identifiers for digital components that are blocked either bythe user directly or due to the frequency at which the digital componentis displayed to the user being exceeded during the given time duration.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can receive the probabilistic datastructures from the client devices 110 of the users, e.g., in anencrypted form that prevents either computing system MPC1 or MPC2 fromaccessing the identifiers in cleartext. For example, the application 112running on a user's client device 110 can generate a Bloom filter thatrepresents the identifiers for the blocked digital components that areblocked due to frequency capping or blocked by the user. The application112 can then provide data to each computing system MPC1 and MPC2 thatenable the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 to collaboratively query theBloom filter using a secure MPC process to determine whether a givendigital component is blocked for the user. The computing systems MPC1and MPC2 calculate secret shares of a blocked digital componentcondition using this secure MPC process. An example process forgenerating and querying a Bloom filter is described with reference toFIG. 8 .

In some implementations, the identifiers for the blocked digitalcomponents can be included in the same probabilistic data structure asthe user group identifiers and queried using different hash functions.However, the target false positive rate for the blocked digitalcomponents can be lower than the false positive rate for the user groupidentifiers. Thus, fewer hash functions can be used to generate andquery a Bloom filter for blocked digital components than for user groupidentifiers. To reduce the data size of the Bloom filter for the blockeddigital components, the user group identifiers can be represented by adifferent Bloom filter than the blocked digital components. This reduceslatency in sending the Bloom filters over a network, reduces consumedbandwidth in sending the Bloom filters, and reduces battery power usageto send the Bloom filters.

Another example condition for a stored digital component is a pacingcondition that paces the distribution of the digital component over atime duration. The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can store data thatindicates the total number of times the digital component can beprovided over a time duration and/or a maximum budget for the digitalcomponent for the time duration. The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 canuse this information to pace how often the digital component can be acandidate for digital component selection processes based on thiscondition (e.g., all conditions for the digital component would have tobe satisfied for the digital component to be a candidate). In someimplementations, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can implement afeedback controller, e.g., a proportional-integral-derivative (PID)controller using secret shares to pace stored digital components thathave a pacing condition.

In this example, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can store thesetpoint for the PID controller for a digital component and maintain themeasured variable for the PID controller for the digital component. Ingeneral, a PID controller is a feedback controller that uses an errorvalue, which is a difference between a target setpoint and a measuredvariable, to determine an output that drives the measured variabletowards the setpoint. In the context of pacing the distribution ofdigital components to client devices, the setpoint for a campaign can bean impression rate, an interaction rate, a conversion rate, and/or aresource depletion rate (e.g., a budget spend rate). Similarly, themeasured variable can be an impression rate, an interaction rate, aconversion rate, and/or a resource depletion rate over a given timeduration. The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can also store the tuningparameters for each PID controller. The setpoint, measured variable, andtuning parameters can be stored in secret shares (with each computingsystem MPC1 and MPC2 storing a corresponding share of each parameter) orin cleartext depending on the target privacy/data security.

Another example condition is a k-anonymity condition. A k-anonymitycondition can include a k-anonymity rule that requires that a digitalcomponent be eligible (or would have been selected) for distribution toat least k users over a given duration of time. The concept ofk-anonymity ensures that data for a particular user is notdistinguishable from the data of a threshold number k of other users.The system can enforce a k-anonymity rule, for example, by ensuring thata particular digital component is distributed to a client device 110 inresponse to a request for one or more digital components, and the samedigital component could have been, or was, displayed to a set of atleast k users or by at least k applications 112 within a particularperiod of time. In some implementations, each of the k applications 112to which the digital component could have been, or was distributed mustbe for a different user. In this example, the computing systems MPC1 andMPC2 can store, for a digital component, the value k and maintain anumber of users to which the digital component could have beendistributed.

To determine the number of users that a digital component could havebeen displayed can include executing a counterfactual digital componentselection process in parallel with each actual digital componentselection process. In this counterfactual digital component selectionprocess, all digital components can be candidates if they satisfy allconditions other than the k-anonymity condition. If the digitalcomponent is selected for at least k users or applications 112 in thecounterfactual digital component selection processes, the digitalcomponent would have been displayed to k users if not for thek-anonymity condition. Once this happens, the digital component whichsatisfies the k-anonymity condition can be included in the actualdigital component selection processes (assuming the other conditions, ifany, for the digital component are satisfied), which does not includedigital components that have an unsatisfied k-anonymity condition.

In some implementations, each computing system MPC1 and MPC2 storesinformation for the digital components in a data structure that maps thedigital components and their respective information to a set ofcontextual signals. For example, each digital component can be eligiblefor display in presentation environments with resources and/orapplications that include a set of contextual signals. The contextualsignals can include, for example, the topic of the resource, keywordsfound in the resource, the resource locator for the resource, thegeographic location of the client device 110, the spoken languagesetting of the application 112, the number of digital component slots ofthe resource, the type of digital component slot, and/or otherappropriate contextual signals. In addition, a digital component canhave multiple corresponding selection values, one for each set ofcontextual signals. Using such a data structure enables the computingsystems MPC1 and MPC2 to identify the digital components that areeligible for a digital component selection process. The computingsystems MPC1 and MPC2 can then use the conditions to identify, fromthese eligible digital components, the digital components that areactual eligible candidates for selection in the digital componentselection process. The set of contextual signals for use in determiningwhether a digital component is eligible can be in the form of a lookupkey that enables the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 to lookup theeligible digital components using contextual signals of a digitalcomponent request.

When the digital components are associated with corresponding user groupidentifiers that identify eligible user groups for the digitalcomponents, the information can be stored using a lookup table (LUT).Using a LUT can provide some performance advantages, but otherappropriate data structures can also be used. The LUT maps contextualsignals, or lookup keys derived from contextual signals, to a set ofdigital components such that the set of digital components is eligiblefor display and/or for which a selection value or vector is eligible,subject to other conditions described in this document. In this way, thecomputing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can store, for each digital component,multiple selection values, e.g., one for each set of contextual signals.

In some implementations, the lookup key is hash-based messageauthentication code (HMAC) of the contextual signals. For example, thelookup key can be HMAC(URL, HMAC(language, location)), where theparameter URL is the URL of a resource for which a digital component andselection value is eligible, the parameter language is the specifiedspoken language for the applications 112 for which the digital componentand selection value are eligible, and the parameter location is thegeographic location for which the digital component and selection valueare eligible. If the contextual signals of a digital component requestmatch these parameters, the digital component and selection value mappedto the lookup key is eligible for the digital component selectionprocess for selecting a digital component in response to the request.Other contextual signals can be used in addition to, or in place of,URL, location, and language.

To reduce the amount of bandwidth consumed by transmitting a digitalcomponent request over the network 105 and the amount of latency, theapplication 112 can calculate the lookup key using the same HMAC ratherthan sending the contextual signals to the computing systems MPC1 andMPC2. This also reduces the amount of battery consumed by the clientdevice 110 and the amount of data received by each computing system MP1and MPC2.

In some implementations, a two stage LUT table is used, e.g., when thedigital components are conditioned on user group membership for theuser. The first stage can be keyed by a request key (UG_Request_Key).The UG_Request_Key can be a lookup key that is in the form of acomposite message that is based on a set of contextual signals, e.g., aset of contextual signals of a digital component request (e.g., URL,location, language, etc.) or a set of contextual signals for which adigital component is eligible for distribution. That is, the first stageLUT can be keyed based on a set of contextual signals. The key for thefirst stage can be a hash of the UG_Request_Key, e.g., using a hashfunction such as SHA256. This key can be truncated to a specified numberof bits, e.g., to 16 bytes, or another appropriate number of bits. Thevalue for each key UG_Request_Key in the first stage LUT can indicatethe rows of the second stage LUT that includes data for digitalcomponents that are eligible for digital component requests that includethe contextual signals of the UG_Request_Key. An example first stage LUTis shown below as Table 1.

TABLE 1 Key Value SHA256(UG_Request_Key) Rows . . . . . . Rows . . .

The second stage LUT can be keyed based on a combination of the usergroup request key UG_Request_Key in the first stage LUT and a user groupidentifier. In some implementations, the second stage LUT can be anarray or other appropriate data structure. Each row in the second stageLUT can be for a particular selection value (or vector of values) for aparticular digital component. For example, a DSP 150 can submitdifferent selection values for the same digital component, with eachselection value being for a different set of contextual signals and/ordifferent user group identifiers. Thus, the selection values for adigital component can vary based on context and user group membership ofthe user for which the digital component selection process is beingperformed.

A DSP 150 or digital component provider 160 can associate, e.g., link ormap, a digital component to a user group to which the DSP 150 or digitalcomponent provider wants the digital component to be displayed. Forexample, a DSP 150 may want a digital component related to fly fishingto be displayed to men that have shown an interest in fly fishing. Inthis example, the DSP 150 can provide, to the MPC cluster 130, dataindicating that the digital component corresponds to the user groupidentifier for a user group that includes men that have shown aninterest in fly fishing.

In some implementations, the key for a row in the second stage LUT canbe a hash or code generated based on the combination of the user grouprequest key UG_Request_Key and the user group identifier for the digitalcomponent of the row. For example, the key can be a HMAC of thecombination, which can be represented as HMAC_(SHA256)(UG_Request_Key,ug_id). The user group identifier ug_id can be based on a combination ofan internal user group identifier for the user group and a domain of theowner of the user group (e.g., of the DSP, SSP, or digital componentprovider that owns the user group). For example, the user groupidentifier ug_id can be a digital digest of the eTLD+1 of the ownerdomain and the owner's internal user group identifier for the usergroup. The eTLD+1 is the effective top-level domain (eTLD) plus onelevel more than the public suffix. An example eTLD+1 is “example.com”where “.com” is the top-level domain. The ug_id can be truncated to 16bytes or another appropriate data size.

Continuing the previous fly fishing example, the second stage lookup keyfor the row that includes information for the digital component that isto be displayed to users in the men's fly fishing group can be acombination of the user group request key UG_Request_Key and the usergroup identifier ug_id for the men's fly fishing group. As the digitalcomponent can be presented in different contexts, the second stagelookup table can include multiple rows for the digital componentassociated with the user group identifier ug_id for the men's flyfishing group, each with different user group request key UG_Request_Keyand different values.

The value for each row of the second stage LUT can be the selectionvalue (or vector of values) for the digital component and other data forthe digital component, e.g., metadata that identifies the digitalcomponent or the network location from which the digital component canbe downloaded, etc. In some implementations, the row can contain thedigital component itself ready to be rendered by the application 112,e.g., in a web package format.

The value can be a digital component information elementdc_information_element, which can be a byte array having the selectionvalue and the metadata. The byte array can have a particular format thatapplications 112 or trusted programs of client devices 110, and thecomputing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can parse to obtain the selection valueand metadata. In some implementations, the digital component informationelement can include the digital component itself Δn example second stageLUT is shown below as Table 2. When vectors are used for determiningselection values, the selection value can be replaced by the vector inTable 2.

TABLE 2 Key Value HMAC(UG_Request_Key, UG_ID) {selection value,metadata} . . . . . .

The second stage LUT maps a selection value to a particular digitalcomponent, to a particular user group identifier ug_id, and to aparticular set of contextual signals defined by the first stage lookupkey UG_Request_Key. By doing so, the second stage LUT indicates theparticular context of a digital component slot for which the selectionvalue for the digital component is eligible. This allows a DSP 150 ordigital component provider 160 to specify different selection values forthe same digital component for different contexts defined by thecontextual signals and a user's group membership. When a digitalcomponent request is received that indicates that the user to which thedigital component will be displayed is a member of a particular usergroup identified by a particular user group identifier ug_id and thedigital component will be displayed in a particular context defined bythe contextual signals of the first stage lookup key, any digitalcomponent having a selection value in the second stage LUT that has amatching user group identifier and a matching first stage lookup key isa candidate for being selected for distribution in response to therequest.

Further to the descriptions throughout this document, a user may beprovided with controls (e.g., user interface elements with which a usercan interact) allowing the user to make an election as to both if andwhen systems, programs, or features described herein may enablecollection of user information (e.g., information about a user's socialnetwork, social actions, or activities, profession, a user'spreferences, or a user's current location), and if the user is sentcontent or communications from a server. In addition, certain data maybe treated in one or more ways before it is stored or used, so thatpersonally identifiable information is removed. For example, a user'sidentity may be treated so that no personally identifiable informationcan be determined for the user, or a user's geographic location may begeneralized where location information is obtained (such as to a city,ZIP code, or state level), so that a particular location of a usercannot be determined. Thus, the user may have control over whatinformation is collected about the user, how that information is used,and what information is provided to the user.

FIG. 2 shows an example data flow within the environment 100 of FIG. 1 .This description includes two types of selection values: selectionvalues that are conditioned on either sensitive user information, suchas user group membership or other business sensitive information, orparameters whose changes in value can allow unscrupulous parties toinfer the sensitive information, or “conditional selection values”; andselection values that are not conditioned on sensitive information, or“unconditional selection values.” To protect user privacy, theconditions for “conditional selection values” are evaluated within MPCcluster 130 instead of SSP 170 or DSP 150 to determine whether“conditional selection values” are candidates for the content selectionprocess.

This structure allows the MPC cluster 130 to protect user privacy andbusiness confidential information, and to prove its trustworthiness toapplication providers, such as a provider of application 112. In thisexample, the MPC cluster 130 relies on secure 2-Party computation (2PC)architecture, which applies cryptography techniques to guarantee that,if at least one of the two computing systems of the MPC cluster 130 ishonest, there is no leaking of confidential user data or businessconfidential information. If the MPC cluster 130 includes more than twocomputing systems, the current MPC protocol can be expanded, or otherMPC protocols can be used.

The MPC cluster 130 runs the secure 2PC protocol to evaluate and applyconditions to select candidate digital components, conduct selectionprocesses to select a digital component based on selection values, andto receive impression notifications to update parameters on which thoseconditions depend. All of these processes can be done using secretsharing techniques. This protocol is described in detail with referenceto FIG. 3 .

In stage A, an application 112, e.g., in collaboration with a triggeringelement from a content platform, such as SSP 170, sends a request for adigital component to the MPC cluster 130. The application 112 caninclude multiple requests for digital components together into onecombination request to fetch multiple digital components. The MPCcluster 130 can then serve each request in the combination requestindependently, or make one or more selection decisions holistically. Inthis example, the request is for a single digital component, andincludes a request for a digital component that is selected based onsensitive information or a digital component that is selected withoutusing sensitive information. The MPC cluster 130 can respond to therequest by selecting a particular digital component corresponding to aparticular selection value from among a set of selection values that areeach mapped to a respective particular digital component. Theseselection values can be selections values that were previously cached,or otherwise stored, at the MPC cluster 130 and/or selection valuesgenerated by a platform, such as DSP 150 or SSP 170, just-in-time (JIT)selection values. JIT selection values are generated directly inresponse to need, and increase efficiency and decrease waste, becausethe selection values are only generated when a digital component isneeded. For example, JIT selection values can be generated when adigital component slot becomes available-this is indicated by thereceipt of a request for a digital component. Thus, the MPC cluster 130can select a digital component from a set of digital components thatinclude stored digital components for which information is stored at theMPC cluster 130 and digital components for which JIT selection valuesare received for the current digital component request.

In some implementations, the selection value for a digital component canbe determined using two or more vectors. The MPC cluster 130 can store,for a digital component, a first vector of values that can be used todetermine a selection value for the digital component. The first vectorof values can be specific to one or more user groups, e.g., can be usedto determine a selection value for the digital component when a digitalcomponent is being selected for a user that is a member of the one ormore user groups. Thus, the first vector of values can also be referredto as a user group-based vector. The user group-based vector can includemultiple elements across two or more dimensions and each element canrepresent a particular feature of a digital component presentationopportunity. For example, the user group-based vector of values caninclude elements for geographic locations or regions, spoken languages,ages or age ranges, particular URLs of web pages or other electronicresources, particular products or services, whether a digital componentslot is above or below the fold, the type of digital component slot, thesize of the digital component slot, the number of digital componentslots on the electronic resource, the time of day, web propertyidentifier, and/or other appropriate features of digital componentpresentation opportunities. In some implementations, e.g.,implementations that adopt neural networks, the user group-based vectorof values can be an embedding of the user group in some abstract vectorspace.

The value of each element can reflect an amount to increase or decreasea selection value for the digital component based on a current digitalcomponent presentation opportunity having the feature corresponding tothe element. For example, if a DSP 150 wants the digital component to bedisplayed to users in Atlanta, but not users in Dallas, the value for anelement for Atlanta can be a positive value above a value of one, andthe value for an element for Dallas can be a positive value below one,e.g., zero, or a negative value. As described in more detail below, thevalues of the user group-based vector can be part of a vector dotproduct computation to determine a selection value for the digitalcomponent.

The request contains information used in a digital component selectionprocess, including information that can be sensitive, such as user groupidentifiers for user groups to which the application 112 is mapped orotherwise associated, and information that is not sensitive, such ascontextual signals from the application 112 regarding the context inwhich the digital component will be presented and/or displayed. Asdescribed in further detail below, the design of system 110 improves theprotection of user data that can be sensitive or confidential.

The triggering element can be, for example, a tag that detects thepresence of a digital component slot within an internet location visitedby application 112. The triggering element can be placed, for example,at the Internet location and can inform the application 112 of thepresence of a digital component slot for which a digital componentshould be requested.

In stage B, the MPC cluster 130 transmits a digital component requestthat is based on information that is not sensitive, such as contextualsignals, to SSP 170. This request is referred to as a “contextualrequest.” The contextual request can contain various contextual signalsand non-sensitive user information gathered directly by the Internetlocation (e.g., a content publisher) that triggered the request for adigital component. For example, the contextual signals can includeanalytics data, language settings, and other data that assist thecontent publisher with providing a good user experience. The contextualrequest provided to SSP 170 does not, however, include sensitiveinformation, such as user group identifiers.

In stage C, the SSP 170 forwards the contextual request to one or moreDSPs 150. In this particular example, and for simplicity, the SSP 170forwards the contextual request to a single DSP 150. For example, SSP170 can forward the contextual request to DSP 150. In this example, DSP150 has digital components and selection values mapped to the digitalcomponents, or can determine a selection value for a digital componentusing the contextual signals.

In stage D, the one or more DSPs 150 return selection values in responseto the contextual request. For example, DSP 150 returns one or moreselection values mapped to digital components responsive to thecontextual request. DSP 150 can return any number of selection valuesresponsive to the contextual request. In some implementations, DSP 150can additionally return selection values responsive to a digitalcomponent request based on sensitive information, such as user groupinformation. These selection values are “conditional selection values”because they are conditioned on sensitive information, and thus areconditioned on the MPC cluster 130 receiving a request that includessensitive information matching the sensitive information on which theselection values are conditioned. For each selection value that DSP 150provides, DSP 150 includes information such as a time-to-live (TTL)parameter, i.e. the maximum timespan that the MPC cluster 130 may cachethe selection value. This TTL parameter enables the MPC cluster 130 tocache selection values received from DSP 150. In some implementations,without a TTL parameter, the MPC cluster 130 does not cache receivedselection values, and instead will discard the selection values afterthe selection values have been used in a selection process, e.g., in theselection process corresponding to the digital component requesttransmitted in stages A, B and C.

When vectors are used to determine the selection value, the DSP 150 cangenerate and return a second vector of values. The DSP 150 can generatethe second vector of values based on the contextual signals of thedigital component request transmitted in stage B and C. The secondvector can be referred to as a contextual vector. The contextual vectorcan include the same elements corresponding to the same features as theuser group-based vector. However, the DSP 150 can determine the valuesof the contextual vector for the current digital component request basedon the contextual signals of the digital component request. In contrast,the values of the user group-based vector of the DSP 150 is stored asthe MPC cluster 130 and is determined ahead of time, e.g., based on theuser group(s) corresponding to the user group-based vector.

For each DSP 150 that provides a contextual vector, the MPC cluster 130can determine the selection value for each stored digital component ofthe DSP 150 by determining a dot product of the user group-based vectorand the contextual vector provided by the DSP 150. If the DSP 150 hasmultiple user group-based vectors stored by the MPC cluster 130, e.g.,each for a different digital component, the MPC cluster 130 determine,for each user group-based vector, the dot product of the contextualvector and the user group-based vector.

In some implementations, a third vector can be used based on a userprofile of the user for which the digital component request issubmitted. This vector can have the same dimensions and features as theother vectors, but with values based on a user profile for the user.

For example, the value for a location element for Austin in the userprofile vector can have a positive value if the user is in Austin or anegative value or value of zero if the user is not in Austin; the valuefor the same location element in the contextual vector can have apositive value if the publisher content currently shown to the user ishighly relevant to Austin; the value for the same location element inthe user group-based vector for the digital component is positive if thedigital component is relevant to Austin. To calculate the dot product ofthree vectors, the computing systems MPC₁ and MPC₂ first performelement-wise multiplication among corresponding elements, one from eachof the three vectors, then sum the result. For example, assuming thatthe three vectors are V₁={v_(1,1) . . . v_(1,n)}, V₂={v_(2,1) . . .v_(2,n)} and V₃={v_(3,1) . . . v_(3,n)} respectively, the dot-productamong the three vectors would be Σ_(i=1) ^(n) v_(1,i)×v_(2,i)×v_(3,i).

In stage E, the SSP 170 applies content selection rules to digitalcomponents corresponding to conditional selection values. As describedabove, these conditions can be based on user group identifiers,frequency control, blocked (e.g., muted) digital components, pacing,and/or k-anonymity.

SSP 170 also applies selection value rules to determine, for example,how selection values affect post-publishing values for particularcontent providers. Post-publishing values can indicate, for example, anamount that is provided to a publisher 140 for displaying the digitalcomponent with a resource or application content of the publisher 140.The SSP 170 then performs a selection process to determine a topunconditional selection value, the unconditional selection value thatyields the highest post-publishing value. An unconditional selectionvalue is not conditioned on sensitive information, and therefore contentselection rules such as budget and pacing rules, advertiser and digitalcomponent exclusion can be applied by the SSP 170 rather than by the MPCcluster 130. The SSP 170 then forwards the following, which are JITselection values, to the MPC cluster 130: all selection values thatenable caching in the MPC cluster 130 (selection values having TTLvalues) and all selection values whose post-publishing value is no lessthan the post-publishing value of the top unconditional selection value.

In stage F, the MPC cluster 130 updates its cache with JIT selectionvalues received that enable caching (i.e., have TTL values). Inaddition, the MPC cluster 130 applies selection rules, such as usergroup membership rules, frequency control, pacing rules, and rules toprevent micro-targeting of a particular user to all selection valuesreceived in stage E, as well as to previously cached selection values toselect valid candidates for the selection process. The rules can includerestrictions and guidelines on the manner or frequency of distributionof a digital component, among other factors. The rules include frequencycontrol, muting, resource depletion, and pacing constraints. In someimplementations, the JIT digital components that have conditions thatare evaluated by the MPC cluster 130 can be ignored for the currentdigital component selection process. For example, ignoring these digitalcomponents for the current selection process can provide performancebenefits, e.g., reduced latency in selecting and providing a digitalcomponent. The MPC cluster 130 then runs the final selection processamong all eligible candidates, selects a winning selection value, andthen returns data for a digital component mapped to the winningselection value to the application 112 in response to the digitalcomponent request.

In stage G, the digital component mapped to the winning selection valueis rendered by application 112. Application 112 then provides animpression notification to the MPC cluster 130. This impressionnotification includes data that allows the MPC cluster 130 to updateinformation relevant to updating parameters that allow the MPC cluster130 to enforce selection rules for future digital component requests,e.g., received in subsequent occurrences of stage A. In someimplementations, application 112 may send the impression notification Gto MPC cluster 130 by piggy-back on top of a future component request Ato reduce the number of network communications and battery/bandwidthconsumption for mobile devices, as well as processing/computationalcosts for the MPC cluster 130.

FIG. 3 is a swim lane diagram of an example process 300 for selecting adigital component for distribution to a client device. Operations of theprocess 300 can be implemented, for example, by the client device 110,the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 of the MPC cluster 130, and DSPs150. Operations of the process 300 can also be implemented asinstructions stored on one or more computer readable media which may benon-transitory, and execution of the instructions by one or more dataprocessing apparatus can cause the one or more data processing apparatusto perform the operations of the process 300. Although the process 300and other processes below are described in terms of a two computingsystem MPC cluster 130, MPC clusters having more than two computingsystems can also be used to perform similar processes. In addition,operations of the process 300 can be implemented by SSPs 170.

The example process 300 can include variations, such as tiers, boosts,first value selection processes (e.g., first price auctions), secondvalue selection processes (e.g., second price auctions), and floors.Each of these variations are described with reference to FIGS. 3-5 .

In general, a boost is an amount by which a selection value for adigital component is adjusted. For example, a content publisher caninstruct an SSP 170 to give a specific DSP 150 a boost of a specifiedamount “x” when a digital component is being selected for display withone of the publisher's resources 145 or application content. If the DSP150 submits a selection value of “y,” the selection value used in thedigital component selection process would be x+y. However, the DSP 150would only be required to provide an amount no greater than y in a firstor second selection value process if the digital component is selected.In the process 300, the MPC cluster 130 can apply the boost to selectionvalues according to information provided by the SSP 170. For example,each SSP 170 can provide information that maps boosts to DSP 150 andpublisher 140 pairs. That is, the information can indicate that aparticular DSP's selection values should be boosted by a particularamount for digital component selection processes that are selecting adigital component for display with content of a particular publisher. Insome implementations, the SSP/publisher can support boost at a moregranular level. For example, for each lookup key (e.g., for each set ofcontextual signals), the SSP/publisher can specify a boost.

An SSP 170 can instruct the secure MPC cluster 130 to split DSPs 150into multiple tiers with different priorities. Rather than select thedigital component corresponding to the highest selection value among allcandidate digital components in a digital component selection process,the digital component having the highest selection value in the highestpriority tier is selected. To illustrate, consider an example in whichthere are two tiers, a highest tier and a lowest tier. If there are oneor more candidate digital components in the highest tier, the candidatedigital component with the highest selection value in the highest tierwould be selected even if a candidate digital component in the lowesttier had a selection value that is higher than the selection value ofall of the candidate digital components in the highest tier.

The primary difference between a first value selection process and asecond value selection process is the clearing amount for the selecteddigital component. The clearing amount is the amount required to beprovided by the DSP 150 to the publisher 140 and/or SSP 170 for thedisplay of the digital component. The same digital component would beselected using both processes. In a first value selection process, theDSP 150 would be required to provide, to the publisher 140 and/or SSP170, an amount equal to the selection value submitted by the DSP 150. Ina second value selection process, the DSP 150 would be required toprovide an amount based on the next highest selection value instead. Iftiers are used with a second selection value process, the next highestvalue would be the next highest value in the same tier as the selecteddigital component. If there is no such candidate digital component inthe same tier, the next highest value can be a minimum value for thedigital component selection process.

A selection value floor can indicate a minimum selection value that apublisher 140 is willing to accept for display of a digital component. Apublisher 140 can specify selection value floors for various DSPs 150,for each category of digital components (e.g., one floor for digitalcomponents related to cars and another for digital components related togardening), for each digital component provider 160, for each brand, foreach page on the publisher's site, for each digital component slot, fora group of digital component slots, and/or for other types of groups ofdigital components. In some implementations, the SSP 170 can set thefloor on behalf of the publisher 140 either in advance, or for eachdigital component request, e.g., of stage A.

The DSPs 150 provide selection values and additional information (e.g.,selection criteria such as conditions) for digital components to the MPCcluster 130 (302). In some implementations, the DSPs 150 provide theselection values and additional information to the MPC cluster 130 viathe SSP (not shown in FIG. 3 for brevity). For example, the DSPs 150 canprovide the selection values and additional information in response todigital component requests and designate the digital componentscorresponding to the selection values as stored digital components thatshould be stored at the MPC cluster 130.

The MPC cluster 130 can store the selection values and selectioncriteria for future digital component requests received from clientdevices 110. For each digital component, a DSP 150 can also uploadadditional data, e.g., metadata, for the digital component. Theadditional information for a digital component can include one or moreconditions (and parameters for the condition(s)) that must be satisfiedin order for the digital component to be included in a digital componentselection process. For example, the additional information can includeone or more user group identifiers for user groups corresponding to thedigital component.

The additional information for a digital component can includecontextual selection signals that indicate the context for which thedigital component is eligible, e.g., location of client device 110,spoken language selected for the application 112, URLs for resourceswith which the digital component can be presented and/or excluded URLsfor resources with which the digital component cannot be presented. Thisadditional information for a digital component can also identify thedigital component, e.g., using a unique identifier, a domain from whichthe digital component can be obtained, and/or other appropriate data forthe digital component. This additional information can be included asmetadata for the digital component.

In some implementations, the MPC cluster 130 caches, or otherwisestores, selection values, selection criteria and other information fordigital components provided to the MPC cluster 130 for digital componentrequests. In this example, the contextual signals for the digitalcomponent and the selection value can include the contextual signalsincluded in the digital component request. As described above, theselection values and metadata can be stored in a two stage LUT.

In some implementations, a DSP 150 can provide a user group-based vectorof values for a digital component instead of a static selection valuefor the digital component. In such examples, the user group-based vectorof values can be stored in place of the selection value.

The client device 110 receives content (304). For example, the clientdevice 110 can receive an electronic resource (e.g., web page) fordisplay by a web browser or application content for display by a nativeapplication. The content can include one or more digital component slotsthat include computer-readable code, e.g., scripts, that, when executed,cause the client device 110 to request a digital component for eachslot. The client device 110 can render the content on a display of theclient device 110.

The client device 110 identifies a set of user group identifiers (306).The set of user group identifiers can be the user group identifiers forthe user groups that include the user as a member. For example, the setof user group identifiers can be the user group identifiers in the usergroup list. The application 112 that renders the content or a trustedprogram can identify the set of user group identifiers, e.g., byaccessing the user group list from secure storage of the client device110.

The client device 110 generates a probabilistic data structure (308). Tosecurely and efficiently generate a digital component request based onsensitive information, the application 112 can use probabilistic datastructures, such as a cuckoo filter or a Bloom filter. In this example,the probabilistic data structure is a cuckoo filter. An example of usinga Bloom filter is described with reference to FIG. 8 . In general, acuckoo filter includes an array of buckets where each bucket can hold bfingerprints. The fingerprint of an item is a bit string derived fromthe hash of that item. A cuckoo filter uses n hash functions that allowsan item to be placed inn different buckets in any of the b positions.Typically, a cuckoo filter is identified by the number of fingerprintsin each bucket and the number of buckets. For example, a (2, 4) cuckoofilter has 2 buckets and each bucket in the cuckoo array can store up to4 fingerprints. Therefore, the total capacity of the cuckoo filter is2×4 or 8 fingerprints.

Depending on the configuration of the cuckoo filter, an item can beinserted into a cuckoo filter in one of N possible locations, e.g. N=2.The application 112 uses N pseudo random functions (PRF) parameterizedby a user group identifier or an identifier from the set of blockedidentifiers and either of two random variables generated by theapplication 112 to determine all possible locations for the item to beinserted. For example, assume that the two random variables generated bythe application 112 are rand_var1 a and rand_var1 b. In someimplementations, the application 112 and the MPC cluster 130 agree on aPRF in advance, where PRF(x, y)ϵ[0, 2^(k)−1] where k is the number ofbits in each item in a bucket of the cuckoo filter.

Each location of the cuckoo filter can be occupied by a user groupidentifier or a blocked identifier, or empty. The blocked identifiersare identifiers for which the application 112 is blocking digitalcomponents, e.g., based on frequency controls or for which the userselected to block digital components for the user group. The application112 can generate a cuckoo filter table whose elements are PRF(ug_id,rand_var1 a), PRF(blocked_uid, rand_var1 b), and 0, where ug_id is theidentifier of the user group generated by applying HMAC on the label ofthe user group based on the domain of the content provider, blocked_uidis an identifier from a set of blocked identifiers, and 0 represents anempty item. The process is repeated on all user group identifiers. Insome implementations, the same probabilistic data structure, e.g.,cuckoo filter or Bloom filter, can store both user group identifiers andblocked identifiers. In other implementations, user group identifiersand blocked identifiers are stored in dedicated probabilistic datastructures.

The application 112 can generate a vector B based on a cuckoo filtertable generated for the user group identifiers and/or blockedidentifiers. Each value B_(i) in the vector B can be represented asB=(A_(i)−PRF(rand_var2, i)) mod p where A is the cuckoo filter table andi is the index of the vector B and cuckoo filter table A. When theapplication 112 initiates a request for a digital component for adigital component slot, the application 112 transmits rand_var1 a,rand_var1 b and rand_var2 as parameters of the request to computingsystem MPC1. The application 112 also transmits the vector B, rand_var1a and rand_var1 b as parameters of the request to computing system MPC2.PRF(rand_var2, i) and B_(i) are two additive secret shares of A_(i) inZ_(p), held by computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 respectively. Becauseneither of the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 have access to both thesecret shares, neither of the computing systems can recreate the cuckoofilter table, preserving user privacy.

The client device 110 transmits, to the MPC cluster 130, digitalcomponent requests that include the parameters for the cuckoo filter(310). For example, the client device 110 can transmit, to computingsystem MPC1, a digital component request that includes rand_var1 a,rand_var1 b and rand_var2. The client device 110 can also transmit, tocomputing system MPC2, a digital component request that includes vectorB, rand_var1 a and rand_var1 b. Both digital component requests can alsoinclude contextual signals, e.g., the URL of the electronic resource,the number of digital component slots of the resource, the geographiclocation of the client device 110, and/or other appropriate contextualsignals, e.g., lookup key, that can be used to select a digitalcomponent.

The MPC cluster 130 transmits a contextual digital component request tothe SSP 170 (312). This digital component request can include thecontextual signals, but not sensitive user data, such as user groupidentifiers that identify user groups that include the user as a member.In some implementations, the contextual digital component request wasgenerated by the SSP's tags on the publisher's page rendered on clientdevice 110. The application 112 sends the contextual digital componentrequest to the SSP 170, via the MPC cluster 130, by piggyback on thedigital component request sent in operation 310. In some implementation,the application 112 encrypts the contextual digital component requestusing a public key of the SSP 170, and sends the encrypted contextualdigital component request to the SSP 170 by piggy-back on the digitalcomponent request sent in operation 310, such that nobody but the SSP170 can decrypt the contextual digital component.

The SSP 170 transmits the contextual digital component request to one ormore DSPs 150 (314). Each DSP 150 can respond to a request with one ormore conditional selection values for digital components and/or one ormore unconditional selection values for digital components. For eachdigital component, the response can include data identifying the digitalcomponent, the selection value for the digital component, and metadata(or other additional information) for the digital component. Forexample, the response can include a digital component informationelement dc_information_element for each digital component. Each DSP 150can select one or more digital components for inclusion in the digitalcomponent selection process based on the contextual signals anddetermine or identify a selection value for each selected digitalcomponent. In some implementations, a DSP 150 can generate a contextualvector for each of one or more digital components based on thecontextual signals.

Each DSP 150 can transmit its response to the SSP 170 (316). The SSP 170can transmit the responses to the MPC cluster 130 (318). In someimplementations, the SSP 170 can apply one or more floors for thedigital component selection process prior to transmitting the responsesto the MPC cluster 130. The SSP 170 can apply the floor(s) based on thepublisher 140 of the electronic resource for which the digital componentis being selected. As described above, a publisher 140 can specifyfloors for DSPs 150, categories of digital components, digital componentproviders 160, brands, and/or for other types of groups of digitalcomponents.

The SSP 170 can identify the floors specified by the publisher 140 andapply them to the selection values received from the DSPs 150. If aselection value is less than the corresponding floor, the SSP 170 canremove the selection value from the digital component selection process,e.g., by not providing the selection value to the MPC cluster 130. Forexample, assume that the publisher 140 specified a floor of five unitsfor a given digital component provider 160. If the DSP 150 provided aselection value of four units for a digital component of the givendigital component provider 160, the SSP 170 can filter the selectionvalue from the digital component selection process.

As described above, the DSPs 150 can provide selection values for storeddigital components that are to be stored for use in digital componentprocesses in the future. If these selection values do not satisfy thecorresponding floor(s), the digital components and their associatedselection values are not stored at the MPC cluster 130 as the SSP 170does not forward them to the MPC cluster 130.

In some implementations, the MPC cluster 130 enforces the floors ratherthan, or in addition to, the SSP 170. As the MPC cluster 130 computesthe dot product of the vectors when vectors are used to determine theselection values, the MPC cluster 130 can enforce the floors on theseselection values. The MPC cluster 130 can also enforce the floors onstatic selection values, e.g., rather than the SSP 170.

The MPC cluster 130 performs a secure MPC process to select a digitalcomponent to provide for display at the client device 110 (320). Thisselection can include identifying a set of digital components and theircorresponding selection values that are eligible for the digitalcomponent selection process based on contextual signals, e.g., using alookup key, such as a first stage lookup key described above withreference to FIG. 1 . This can also include identifying, from the set ofdigital components, candidate digital components that are candidates forselection. The candidate digital components can include theunconditional digital components for which the DSPs 150 providedselection values and conditional digital components for which eachcondition of the digital component is satisfied. A conditional digitalcomponent is only considered a candidate for a digital componentselection process when all conditions of the digital component aresatisfied.

The MPC cluster 130 can select, from the candidate digital components, adigital component to provide to the client device 110 in response to thedigital component request based on the selection values for thecandidate digital components. For digital components having a selectionvalue determined using vectors, the MPC cluster 130 can determine theselection value for the digital component by determining a dot productof the vectors, e.g., the user group-based vector, the contextualvector, and optionally a user profile vector.

In selecting the digital component, the MPC cluster 130 can alsoconsider any tiers or boosts for the digital components. As describedabove, a publisher 140 can establish tiers and/or boosts for DSPs 150and/or digital component providers 160. When the publisher 140 for whichthe digital component is being selected has established boosts, the MPCcluster 130 (or the SSP 170) can adjust the selection value for digitalcomponents for DSPs 150 and/or digital component providers 160 using thecorresponding boost specified by the publisher 140. If vectors are usedto determine a selection value, the MPC cluster 130 can adjust theselection value after the selection value is determined by computing thedot product of the vectors.

When tiers are used, the MPC cluster 130 can perform a selection processfor each tier, e.g., sequentially from the highest priority tier to thelowest priority tier or in parallel. The MPC cluster 130 can select thedigital component having the highest selection value in the highestpriority tier that includes at least one candidate digital component.For example, if none of the digital components in the highest prioritytier are a candidate, e.g., that satisfies all of its conditions forinclusion in the digital component selection process, the MPC cluster130 selects a candidate from the next highest priority tier thatincludes a candidate.

The MPC cluster 130 can perform the selection process for each tier inparallel to improve the speed at which the selection process isperformed. In this way, if there are no candidates in the highestpriority tier, the MPC cluster 130 has already started and may havecompleted the selection process for each other tier so that a finaldigital component can be selected.

The MPC cluster 130 can perform the selection processes sequentiallyfrom highest priority tier to the lowest priority tier. If speed is notas critical, this can reduce wasted computations performed for lowerpriority tiers if a higher priority tier includes a candidate digitalcomponent. An example process for selecting a digital component using asecure MPC process is illustrated in FIG. 4 and described below.

The MPC cluster 130 transmits secret shares of a selection result to theclient device 110 (322). In some implementations, the MPC cluster 130can also send a selection process identifier for the digital componentselection process to the client device 110. The selection processidentifier can uniquely identify the digital component selection processfor which the selection result was generated. For example, the computingsystems MPC1 and MPC2 can each generate a respective selection processidentifier SPID for each digital component request for which thecomputing systems MPC1 and MPC2 perform a selection process to generatea selection result to provide to a client device 110. In someimplementations, the selection process identifier SPID can be a nonce oran opaque alphanumeric or numeric sequence.

The MPC cluster 130 can also store data for the selection values thatwere part of the selection process keyed by, or otherwise linked to, theSPIDs. For example, computing system MPC1 can store a table or otherdata structure that includes data for the selection values with a keythat is based on the SPID₁ generated by computing system MPC1 for theselection process. Similarly, computing system MPC2 can store a table orother data structure that includes data for the selection values with akey that is based on the SPID₂ generated by computing system MPC2 forthe selection process. This enables the MPC cluster 130 to update theprocess variables for the feedback controllers based on data receivedfrom the client device 110.

The selection result can be in the form of a byte array that includesinformation about the selected digital component. For example, theselection result can be a byte array that includes the value for thedigital component in the second LUT, e.g., the selection value for thedigital component and the metadata for the digital component. Thecomputing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can determine, using the secure MPCprocess, the secret shares of the selection result, as described in moredetail below. The computing system MPC1 can transmit a first secretshare of the selection result to the client device 110 and the computingsystem MPC2 can send a second secret share of the selection result tothe client device 110. To prevent the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2knowing the selected digital component, the computing systems MPC1 andMPC2 can be prevented from sharing their secret shares of the selectionresult with each other.

The client device 110 determines a digital component that corresponds tothe selection result(s) (324). For each selection result for which theclient device 110 receives two secret shares from the computing systemsMPC1 and MPC2, the client device 110 can determine the selection resultfrom the two secret shares. For example, using an additive secret sharelibrary as described in more detail below, the client device 110 can addthe two secret shares of the selection result together to obtain theselection result in cleartext. This gives the client device 110 accessto the selection value for the digital component and the metadata forthe digital component, e.g., the identity of the digital component, thelocation from which the client device 110 can download the digitalcomponent, etc.

The client device 110 displays a digital component (326). For example,the application 112 can display the digital component with the contentreceived in step 304. In some implementations, the client device 110 candisplay the digital component of the selection result.

In some implementations, the client device 110 can request a digitalcomponent based on user group membership from the MPC cluster 130. Theclient device 110 can also request digital components based oncontextual signals from an SSP 170. These contextual signals can includethe same contextual signals described above, and optionally additionalcontextual signals such as the number of digital component slots of theresource, the types of digital component slots, the types and/or formatof digital components that can be displayed with the resource, etc. TheSSP 170 can select one or more digital components based on thecontextual signals and selection values for the digital components andprovide one or more of the selected digital components (or dataidentifying the digital components) and the selection values for thedigital component(s) to the client device 110. The client device 110 canthen select, from a set of digital components that include the digitalcomponent of the selection result received from the MPC cluster 130 andthe digital component(s) selected by the SSP 170, a digital component todisplay with the resource. If a resource includes multiple digitalcomponent slots, the client device 110 can request a respective digitalcomponent for each slot from the MPC cluster 130 and from the SSP 170.

The client device 110 can transmit one or more event notifications tothe MPC cluster 130 (328). For example, assuming that a digitalcomponent of selection result received from the MPC cluster 130 isdisplayed by the application 112 of the client device 110, theapplication 112 can transmit an impression notification for a digitalcomponent in response to displaying the digital component. In anotherexample, the application 112 can transmit a user interactionnotification in response to detecting user interaction, e.g., aselection/click of the digital component.

For user interaction notifications, the application 112 can generatesecret shares of a clicked parameter clicked that is a Boolean parameterthat can have a value of one if the user interacted with the digitalcomponent, or a value of zero if the user did not interact with thedigital component within a specified duration of time after the digitalcomponent was displayed. Thus, in this example, either value indicatesthat the digital component was displayed, but a value of one canindicate that the user interacted with the digital component. Theapplication 112 can send, to computer system MPC1, a first notificationthat includes the SPID₁ received from computing system MPC1 and a firstsecret share [clicked₁] of the clicked parameter. Similarly, theapplication 112 can send, to computer system MPC2, a second notificationthat includes the SPID₂ received from computing system MPC₂ and a secondsecret share [clicked₂] of the clicked parameter. In another example,the notification can separately indicate whether the digital componentwas displayed at the client device 110, e.g., using secret sharessimilar to the clicked parameter.

The impression and user interaction notifications enable the MPC cluster130 to update the process variables for a feedback controller used topace the distribution of the digital component. For example, if theprocess variable is an impression rate, the MPC cluster 130 can use theimpression notification to update a count of the impressions of thedigital component (or campaign that includes the digital component). Ifthe process variable is a user interaction rate, the MPC cluster 130 canuse the clicked parameter to update a number of user interactions forthe digital component (or campaign that includes the digital component).In a particular example, computing system MPC1 can use the SPID₁ toobtain the stored data for the selection process and computing systemMPC2 can use the SPID₂ to obtain the stored data for the selectionprocess. The MPC cluster 130 can then perform a secure MPC process toupdate the process variables (e.g., impression rate, interaction rate,conversion rate, and/or resource depletion rate) for the campaign of thedigital component that was displayed by the application 112. Similarly,the MPC cluster 130 can use the notifications to update counts used todetermine whether a digital component satisfies a k-anonymity condition.

FIG. 4 is a swim lane diagram of an example process 400 for selecting adigital component for distribution to a client device. Operations of theprocess 400 can be implemented, for example, by the computing systemsMPC1 and MPC2 of the MPC cluster 130. Operations of the process 400 canalso be implemented as instructions stored on one or more computerreadable media which may be non-transitory, and execution of theinstructions by one or more data processing apparatus can cause the oneor more data processing apparatus to perform the operations of theprocess 400.

The process 400 can be used for first value selection processes, secondvalue selection processes, and/or selection processes that includeboosts and/or floors. Each of these variations are described below.Another example process 500 illustrated in FIG. 5 can be used forselection processes that include tiers. The process 500 can also supportfirst value selection processes, second value selection processes,boosts, and/or floors.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 determine, and/or identify,selection values for digital components (402). The computing systemsMPC1 and MPC2 can determine the selection values in response to adigital component request received from a client device 110. Asdescribed with reference to FIG. 3 , computing system MPC1 can receive,from the client device 110, a digital component request that includescontextual signals and data for a probabilistic data structure thatrepresents user group identifiers for the user of the client device 110.The data for the probabilistic data structure can include parametersrand_var1 a, rand_var1 b and rand_var2. Similarly, computing system MPC2can receive, from the client device 110, the contextual signals and theparameters vector B, rand_var1 a and rand_var1 b. The contextual signalscan be in the form of a lookup key, e.g., the first stage lookup key(SHA256(UG_Request_Key)) described with reference to FIG. 1 .

The selection values can include selection values for stored digitalcomponents for which data is stored by each computing system MPC1 andMPC2 and JIT selection values received for the digital componentselection process from an SSP 170. For situations in which the selectionvalues are determined using vectors, each computing system MPC1 and MPC2can determine the selection values by determining the dot product of thevectors for the digital component. The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2can also apply any boosts for digital components for which the publisher140 or SSP 170 has established a boost and/or enforce any floorsestablished by the publisher 140 or SSP 170.

The computing system MPC1 identifies eligible digital components (404).The computing system MPC1 can identify eligible digital components for adigital component request received from a client device 110, e.g., asdescribed with reference to FIG. 3 . An eligible digital component is adigital component that is eligible for selection based on the contextualsignals of the digital component request. For example, an eligibledigital component can be a digital component having a set of contextualsignals that match contextual signals of the digital component request,e.g., a digital component having a lookup key that matches the lookupkey of the request.

In implementations in which a two stage LUT is used, the computingsystem MPC1 can identify the eligible digital components using the firststage lookup key of the digital component request. The computing systemMPC1 can access the first stage LUT and use the first stage lookup keyto identify the rows of the second stage LUT that include informationfor digital components that are eligible to displayed, e.g., for which aselection value has been received, for the set of contextual signalsrepresented by the first stage lookup key. For example, as describedabove, each row of the second stage LUT includes information for adigital component and a second stage lookup key that is based on a setof contextual signals. Thus, the computing system MPC1 can use the firststage lookup key to identify rows of the second stage LUT that have aset of contextual signals that match the set of contextual signalsdefined by the first stage lookup key received in the digital componentrequest. These rows include information for digital components that areeligible to be displayed or have eligible selection values for thecontext defined by the first stage lookup key received in the digitalcomponent request.

The computing system MPC2 identifies eligible digital components (406).The computing system MPC2 can identify eligible digital components for adigital component request received from a client device 110. Thecomputing system MPC2 can identify eligible digital components in asimilar manner as computing system MPC1. In implementations in which theMPC cluster 130 enforces floors, each MPC computing system MPC1 and MPC2can filter, from the eligible digital components, any eligible digitalcomponent that has a selection value that does not satisfy, e.g., thatdoes not meet or exceed, its corresponding floor.

For each eligible digital component, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2determine whether the digital component and its selection value is acandidate for being selected for distribution to the client device 110in response to the digital component request (408). The candidatedigital components are the eligible digital components that satisfy allof the one or more conditions for the digital component, if the digitalcomponent is a conditional digital component. Each unconditional digitalcomponent that is eligible based on context is also a candidate digitalcomponent. The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can determine thecandidate digital components using a secure MPC process such thatneither computing system MPC1 or MPC2 can identify the candidate digitalcomponents in cleartext.

For user group membership conditions, the computing systems MPC1 andMPC2 can calculate respective secret shares of a user group membershipcondition parameter ug_check_(i) for each eligible digital component“1.” The first secret share of the user group membership conditionparameter ug_check_(i) maintained by the computing system MPC1 can berepresented as [ug_check_(i,1)] and the second secret share of the usergroup membership condition parameter ug_check_(i) maintained by thecomputing system MPC2 can be represented as [ug_check_(i,2)]. Bracketsare used to represent secret shares of parameters.

For implementations in which a cuckoo filter is used to represent theuser group membership for a user, the computing system MPC1 calculates,in collaboration with computing system MPC2, [ug_check_(i,1)] accordingto relationship 1 below:

0==Π_(i=1) ^(N)([M _(F) _(i) _((ug_id(x)),1)]−PRF(ug_id(x),rand_val1a))AND 0≠Π_(i=1) ^(N)([M _(F) _(i)_((block_id(x)),1)]−PRF(block_id(x),rand_val1b)

In relationship 1, Π denotes the multiplication of multiple items. Here,ug_id(x) is a function used to retrieve the user group identifier ug_idassociated with a selection value x, {F₁, . . . F_(N)} is a set of hashfunctions to calculate possible index of an item within the cuckoofilter table A, and rand_val1 a is the random value received in thedigital component request. [M_(x,1)] is the x-th element in the array[M₁]. == is the equality test between a cleartext integer and a secretshare of a secret integer. The result of == is a secret share of asecret integer that is either 0 (not equal) or 1 (equal). Here, thevalue of [M_(i,1)]=[PRF(rand_val1 a, i)₁].

Similarly, computing system MPC2 calculates, in collaboration withcomputing system MPC2, [ug_check_(i,2)] according to relationship 2below:

0==Π_(i=1) ^(N)([M _(F) _(i) _((ug_id(x)),2)]−PRF(ug_id(x),rand_val1a))AND 0≠Π_(i=1) ^(N)([M _(F) _(i)_((block_id(x)),2)]−PRF(block_id(x),rand_val1b)

Here, the value of [M_(i,2)]=B_(i).

For digital components that are conditioned on user group membership ofthe user for which a digital component is being selected, the computingsystems MPC1 and MPC2 can calculate the secret shares [ug_check_(i,1)]and [ug_check_(i,2)] of the user group membership condition parameterug_check_(i). The combination of the two secret shares can be a Booleanvalue representing whether the user is a member of the user groupcorresponding to the digital component. For example, a value of one canrepresent that the user is a member and a value of zero can representthat the user is not a member. For digital components that are notconditioned on user group membership of the user, the computing systemsMPC1 and MPC2 can use default values for the secret shares[ug_check_(i,1)] and [ug_check_(i,2)] such that the combination has avalue (e.g., one) indicating that the user is a member of the user groupcorresponding to the digital component.

In implementations in which a Bloom filter is used to represent the usergroup membership of a user, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 canquery the Bloom filter as described with reference to FIG. 8 . Theresult is that computing system MPC1 has, for each hash function of theBloom filter, a first secret share [ug_check_(i,1)] of the user groupmembership condition parameter. Similarly, computing system MPC2 has,for each hash function of the Bloom filter, a second secret share[ug_check_(i,2)] of the user group membership condition parameter. For adigital component to satisfy the user group membership condition, theuser group membership condition parameter, i.e., ug_check_(i), for eachhash value of the Bloom filter would need to have a Boolean value oftrue, or one. The secret shares for each hash value can be included inthe final calculation of the secret shares of the candidate parameterfor the digital component.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can also collaborate to calculaterespective secret shares [blocked_check_(i,1)] and [blocked_check_(i,2)]of a blocked digital component parameter blocked_check_(i) for eachdigital component i that is conditioned on frequency controls or muting.The combination of the two secrets shares can be a Boolean valuerepresenting whether the digital component satisfies the blocked digitalcomponent condition based on frequency controls (e.g., the digitalcomponent has not been provided to the user more than a threshold numberof times during a duration of time) and/or based on whether the userselected to not have the digital component displayed to the user. Forexample, a Boolean value of true or a value of one can represent thatthe digital component can be displayed to the user based on thesefactors and a Boolean value of false or a value of zero can representthat the digital component cannot be displayed to the user based onthese factors.

To determine the secret shares of the blocked digital componentparameter, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can use shares, e.g.,arrays, of a Bloom filter that represents identifiers for blockeddigital components. The application 112 can generate a Bloom filter thatrepresents the identifiers for the blocked digital components and senddata representing the Bloom filter to the computing systems MPC1 andMPC2, as described with reference to FIG. 8 . The computing systems MPC1and MPC2 can then query the Bloom filter using arrays representing theBloom filter to obtain the secret shares [blocked_check_(i,1)] and[blocked_check_(i,2)], as described with reference to FIG. 8 .

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can also collaborate to calculaterespective secret shares [pacing_check_(i,1)] and [pacing_check_(i,2)]of a pacing control check parameter pacing_check_(i) for each digitalcomponent i that is paced, e.g., using a feedback controller. Thecombination of the two secrets shares can be a Boolean valuerepresenting whether the digital component satisfies the pacingcondition, e.g., based on the output of the feedback controller. Forexample, if the digital component is being provided too frequently inrelation to the target impression rate, the output of the feedbackcontroller can indicate that the digital component is not eligible forthis digital component selection process. A Boolean value of true or avalue of one can represent that the digital component satisfies thepacing condition, e.g., is not being throttled for this selectionprocess, and a Boolean value of false or a value of zero can indicatethat the digital component does not satisfy the pacing condition, e.g.,is being throttled for this selection process.

To enforce resource depletion (e.g., budget) and pacing rules, thecomputing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can randomly block a digital componentfrom participating in the digital component selection process using aprobability that is determined using the feedback controller and aresource depletion condition. If a campaign that includes a digitalcomponent does not have any additional resources, the probability is setto one. Otherwise, if the campaign is ahead of the delivery schedule,the probability is set high (e.g. above zero and close to one) such thatthe computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 are more likely to block the digitalcomponent from the digital component selection process, e.g., bycalculating secret shares [pacing_check_(i,1)] and [pacing_check_(i,2)]such that the pacing control check parameter pacing_check_(i) has avalue of zero. If the campaign is behind the delivery schedule, theprobability is lower.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can periodically calculate a pacingselector parameter pacing_selector for each campaign in additive secretshares using the feedback controller. Conceptually, the pacing selectorparameter is the throttling probability, scaled up by a factor of amaximum range.

For each digital component request and each digital component, thecomputing systems MPC1 and MPC2 calculate a secret number uniformlydistributed in [0, maximum range]. If the random number is less than orequal to the pacing selector parameter pacing_selector, the computingsystems MPC1 and MPC2 block the digital component from participating inthe digital component selection process, e.g., by calculating secretshares [pacing_check_(i,1)] and [pacing_check_(i,2)] such that thepacing control check parameter pacing_check_(i) has a value of zero.

To protect user privacy and confidential information of the participantsin the digital component selection process, both the random number andthe pacing selector parameter are in additive secret shares. Thecomparison between two secret shares can be performed using a garbledcircuit protocol. By limiting both secret shares to six or seven bits,the comparison protocol may take one or two rounds of communicationbetween the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2.

To determine the pacing selector parameter for a campaign, the computingsystems can calculate the amount of resources used for each campaign asresources_used_campaign=Σ(clearing_value×is_dc_the_winner), where thesum is across all of the digital component selection processes thatinclude the digital component of the campaign, the parameterclearing_value is the clearing value for the digital component selectionprocess, and is_dc_the_winner is the winner parameter for the digitalcomponent in the digital component selection process. This computationcan be performed in secret shares such that each computing system MPC1and MPC2 holds a secret share of the amount of resources used. Thecomputing systems MP1 and MPC2 can then calculate a resources exhaustedparameter resources_exhausted for the campaign by determining whetherthe amount of resources used, i.e. resources_used_campaign, is greaterthan the total amount of resources allocated for the campaign in secretshares.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can calculate the pacing selectorparameter pacing_selector for each campaign aspacing_selector=resources_exhausted×maximumrange+(1−resources_exhausted)×output, where the parameter output is theoutput of the feedback controller. This calculation can use one RPCbetween the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 to compute multiplication insecret shares. However, the calculation can be performed offlineperiodically to prevent any added latency.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can also collaborate to calculaterespective secret shares of [kanonymity_check_(i,1)] and[kanonymity_check_(i,2)] of a k-anonymity check parameterkanonymity_check_(i) for each digital component i that must satisfy ak-anonymity condition, which can apply to all digital components in someimplementations. The combination of the two secret shares can be aBoolean value representing whether the digital component satisfies thek-anonymity condition. For example, a value of one can represent thatthe digital component satisfies k-anonymity and a value of zero canrepresent that the digital component does not satisfy k-anonymity andshould be blocked from digital component selection processes.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can periodically process logs (asdescribed with reference to FIG. 9 ) to identify digital componentselection processes where winner digital components have been shown (orcould have been shown) by an application 112, e.g., the correspondingselection process identifier has been received in impressionnotifications. Among these selection processes, the computing systemsMPC1 and MPC2 counts the number of impressions that were shown (or couldhave been shown) by users' applications 112 asimpression_show_(i)=Σ(is_dc_the_winner_i). Here, i can represent adigital component or a campaign. The computation is performed in secretshares such that each computing system MPC1 and MPC2 have a secret shareof the number of impressions impression_show_(i). The computing systemsMPC1 and MPC2 can then determine whether the number of impressionsexceeds a value k, e.g., by comparing the number of impressions to kover secret shares.

For each condition of each conditional digital component (e.g., digitalcomponents that have at least one condition), each computing system MPC1and MPC2 can store a corresponding secret share of the parameter foreach condition for the digital component. In this way, as long as atleast one MPC computing system is honest, neither computing system MPC1nor MPC2 knows the value of the parameter in cleartext. Each digitalcomponent can be conditioned on zero or more of the conditions. For agiven digital component selection process, some digital components canhave different conditions and/or different quantities of conditions thanother digital components.

Although some example conditions are provided above, other conditionscan also be used. In general, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 cancalculate the secret shares of the condition parameters using a secureMPC process. The criteria and techniques for determining the conditionparameters can vary. In some implementations, the secret shares of thecondition parameters can be received from another computing system,e.g., such that the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 do not compute thecondition parameters.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can determine whether a conditionaldigital component is a candidate for the digital component selectionprocess using the secret shares of the condition parameters. Thecomputing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can calculate secret shares of acandidate parameter is_dc_a_candidate_(i) for each conditional digitalcomponent i using the secret shares of the condition parameter(s) forthe conditional digital component. In general, if a conditional digitalcomponent is conditioned on each of the conditions described above, thecandidate parameter for digital component i can be calculated usingrelationship 3 below:

is_dc_a_candidate_(i)=ug_check_(i) AND blocked_check_(i) ANDpacing_check_(i) AND kanonymity_check_(i)

As the value of each condition parameter is in secret shares, thecomputing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can collaborate in a secure MPC processusing round trip Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs) to determinecorresponding secret shares [is_dc_a_candidate_(i,1)] and[is_dc_a_candidate_(i,2)] of the candidate parameter for digitalcomponent i using the secret shares of the condition parameters. Anyappropriate secret sharing algorithm for determining logical ANDoperations can be used to determine the secret shares[is_dc_a_candidate_(i,1)] and [is_dc_a_candidate_(i,2)] of the candidateparameter for digital component i. The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2can determine the secret shares of the candidate parameter using onlythe secret shares of the condition parameters for those conditions. Asthe end of this secure MPC process, computing system MPC1 holds thefirst secret share [is_dc_a_candidate_(i,1)] of the candidate parameterfor each conditional digital component and computing system MPC2 holdsthe second secret share [is_dc_a_candidate_(i,2)] of the candidateparameter for each conditional digital component.

In some implementations, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 evaluaterelationship 3 for each digital component using a garbled circuitsprotocol. In this example, one of the computing systems MPC1 or MPC2 canconstruct the garbled circuit. For this example, assume that computingsystem MPC1 constructs the garbled circuit. Computing system MPC1 knowsits own secret shares and also knows that there is only one possible bitpattern that computing system MPC2's secret shares must hold in orderfor the candidate parameter for the digital component to become true, orone. With such property, computing system MPC1 only needs up to 50 gatesto construct the garbled circuit, e.g., if there are a total of about 50Boolean parameters in relationship 3.

In relationship 3, there is only one user group membership conditionparameter ug_check_(i). However, if a Bloom filter is used to representthe user group membership for a user, relationship 3 can include arespective user group membership condition parameter ug_check_(i) foreach hash function of the Bloom filter. Similarly, if the blockeddigital components are represented using a Bloom filter, relationship 3would include a respective blocked digital component parameterblocked_check_(i) for each hash function of this Bloom filter. Inrelationship 3, pacing_check_(i) is only present if the owner of thedigital component enables pacing check.

The computing system MPC1 determines an order of the digital componentsbased on the selection values (410). Similarly, the computing systemMPC2 determines an order of the digital components based on theselection values (412). These two orders should be exactly the samebecause the input to the ordering process is the same on the twocomputing systems MPC1 and MPC2. Each computing system MPC1 and MPC2 candetermine an order of the digital components. Each order can includecandidate digital components that were evaluated for candidateeligibility in step 408 and other digital components. For example, theorder can include all available digital components that are availablefor the digital component selection process, all eligible digitalcomponents for the digital component selection process (e.g., eligiblebased on contextual signals), or all digital components in the secondstage LUT if one is used. The order can be from the digital componenthaving the highest selection value to the digital component having thelowest selection value. In some implementations, the selection valuesused for the order can be the value that would be provided to thepublisher 140 of the resource with which a selected digital componentwould be displayed, e.g., after any sharing with a DSP 150 and/or SSP170, plus any applicable boost.

As the selection values are in cleartext, the computing systems MPC1 andMPC2 do not have to perform any roundtrip computations to determine theorder of the digital components. Instead, each computing system MPC1 andMPC2 can order the selection values independently. If the selectionvalues were stored as secret shares at each computing system MPC1 andMPC2, with each computing system MPC1 and MPC2 having a respectivesecret share of each selection value, the computing systems MPC1 andMPC2 can perform a secure MPC process using roundtrip computations toorder the selection values. If there is a tie between two or moreselection values, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can break the tiedeterministically using other metadata for the digital componentscorresponding to these selection values.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 determine secret shares of anaccumulated value for each candidate digital component (414).Conceptually, the accumulated value for a given digital componentrepresents a total number of candidate digital components from the topof the order to the selection value for the given digital component,excluding the given digital component even if the given digitalcomponent is a candidate. That is, the accumulated value represents anumber of candidate digital components that are more eligible forselection than the given digital component. This concept is shown inTable 3 below.

TABLE 3 Is Accumulated Ordered Selection Accumulated Value Equal Valuesis_dc_a_candidate Value (acc) to 0? Highest 0 0 1 2^(nd) Highest 1 0 13^(rd) Highest 0 1 0 4^(th) Highest 1 1 0 . . . . . . . . . . . .

In some implementations, the accumulated value for a given digitalcomponent represents a total number of candidate digital components fromthe top of the order to the given digital component, including the givendigital component if the given digital component is a candidate. In thisexample, the fourth column would represent whether the accumulated valueis equal to one rather than zero. For brevity, the remaining discussionwill be in terms of the first example in which the accumulated value fora given digital component represents a total number of candidate digitalcomponents from the top of the order to the given digital component,excluding the given digital component even if the given digitalcomponent is a candidate.

Conceptually, in Table 3, the accumulated value (acc) is incremented foreach digital component that has a candidate parameter is_dc_a_candidateequal to one as it progresses from the top of the order to the bottom ofthe order. As described below, the calculation of the accumulated valuesacc is performed in secret shares. For example, the accumulated valueacc for the digital component having the highest selection value is zeroas the candidate parameter is_dc_a_candidate for the highest selectionvalue is equal to zero. The accumulated value acc for the second highestdigital component is also zero as the candidate parameteris_dc_a_candidate for the second highest digital component is equal toone but none of the selection values above the second highest digitalcomponent has a candidate parameter is_dc_a_candidate equal to one.Moving down the order, accumulated value acc for the candidate parameteris_dc_a_candidate for the third highest selection digital component isincremented to a value of one based on the candidate parameteris_dc_a_candidate for the second highest selection value having a valueof one. As the candidate parameter is_dc_a_candidate for the thirdhighest digital component is zero, the accumulated value acc for thefourth digital component is not incremented and has a value of zero likethe third highest digital component.

Using Table 3, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 would select, fordistribution to the client device 110, the digital componentcorresponding to the selection value for which the overall candidateparameter is_dc_a_candidate has a value of one and the accumulated valueacc has a value of zero, as indicated in the fourth column of Table 3.This represents the digital component corresponding to the highestordered selection value for which the candidate parameteris_dc_a_candidate has a value of one. As the candidate parameteris_dc_a_candidate is in secret shares for the computing systems MPC1 andMPC2 to maintain user privacy and ensure that user data is not leaked,the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 determine secret shares of theaccumulated value acc for each digital component and use roundtripcomputations to determine which digital component has an accumulatedvalue acc that is equal to zero and a candidate parameteris_dc_a_candidate that is equal to one.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can determine their secret shares ofthe accumulated value acc for each digital component independentlywithout any roundtrip computations in some implementations depending onthe secret share algorithm. For example, computing system MPC1 candetermine, for each digital component i, a first share [acc_(i,1)] ofthe accumulated value acc by traversing all of the digital components inorder from highest to lowest and summing the candidate parametersis_dc_a_candidate for the digital components along the way, as describedabove with reference to Table 3. Similarly, computing system MPC2 candetermine, for each digital component i, a second share [acc_(i,2)] ofthe accumulated value acc by traversing all of the digital components inorder from highest to lowest and summing the candidate parametersis_dc_a_candidate for the digital components along the way.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 determine, for each digitalcomponent, secret shares of a result that indicates whether theaccumulated value has a specified value (416). The specified value canbe a value of zero, as shown in columns 3 and 4 of Table 3. As describedabove, the digital component for which the accumulated value is zero andthe overall candidate parameter is_dc_a_candidate is one is the digitalcomponent having the highest selection value among the candidate digitalcomponents.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can engage in multiple rounds ofcomputations, e.g., multiple RPCs, as part of a secure MPC process tocalculate the equality operation acc_(i)==0 in terms of secret sharesfor each digital component i. The equality operation is used todetermine whether the accumulated value acc_(i) for the digitalcomponent i has a value of zero. At the end of this process, computingsystem MPC1 has, for each digital component i, one secret share of theresult acc_(i)==0, and computing system MPC2 has, for each digitalcomponent, the other secret share of the result acc_(i)==0.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 determine secret shares of a winnerparameter is_dc_the_winner_(i) for each digital component i (418). Thecomputing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can determine the winner parametersis_dc_the_winner_(i) based on, for each digital component i, the secretshares of the accumulated value acc_(i)==0 and the secret shares of thecandidate parameter is_dc_a_candidate_(i) for each digital component i.The winner parameter is_dc_the_winner_(i) for each digital component ican be a Boolean value that indicates whether the digital component i isthe winner of the selection process, e.g., whether the digital componenti is selected for distribution to the client device 110 in response tothe digital component request.

In some implementations, computing system MPC1 and MPC2 can carry outsecret share multiplication protocol to calculate, for each selectionvalue, the winner parameteris_dc_the_winner_(i)==(is_dc_a_candidate_(i)×(acc_(i)==0)) in terms ofsecret shares. This can include one RPC between the computing systemsMPC1 and MPC2 to multiple two secret shares. At the end of this MPCprocess, computing system MPC1 has one secret share of the resultis_dc_the_winner_(i) represented as[is_dc_the_winner_(i,1)]=[is_dc_a_candidate_(i,1)]×([acc_(i,1)]==1).Similarly, computing system MPC2 has the other secret share of theresult is_dc_the_winner_(i) represented as[is_dc_the_winner_(i,2)]=[is_dc_a_candidate_(sv, 2)]×([acc_(i,2)]==0).Note that for all digital components, at most one digital component hasa winner parameter is_dc_the_winner_(i) that is equal to one, which isthe digital component that is selected for distribution to the clientdevice 110. All others would equal zero.

For a first value selection process, computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 canperform a similar process to determine the winner parameteris_dc_the_winner_(i) for each digital component i. For example, thecomputing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can perform a secret share equality testto determine secret shares of a first selection value parametermaybe_first_sv_(i)=(acc_(i)==0). The first selection value parametermaybe_first_sv_(i) for digital component i can be a Boolean value thatrepresents whether the selection value for the digital component mightbe the highest among the candidate digital components. The selectionvalue would only be the highest selection value among the candidatedigital components if the digital component corresponding to theselection value is actually a candidate digital component. Thus, thefirst selection value parameter maybe_first_sv_(i) for digital componenti represents whether the digital component would have the highestselection value if the digital component is actually a candidate digitalcomponent. At the end of this equality test, computing system MPC1 has afirst secret share [maybe_first_sv_(i,1)] of the first selection valueparameter maybe_first_sv_(i) for digital component i and computingsystem MPC2 has a second secret share [maybe_first_sv_(i,2)] of thefirst selection value parameter maybe_first_sv_(i) for digital componenti.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can then calculate the winnerparameter is_dc_the_winner_(i) for each digital component i in terms ofsecret shares using relationship 4 below:

is_dc_the_winner_(i)==((is_dc_a_candidate_(i)=TRUE) AND(maybe_first_sv_(i)=TRUE))

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 determine a selection result (420).In some implementations, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 cancalculate the selection result based on the winner parameters for thedigital components and the digital component information elementdc_information_element for the digital components. As described above,the digital component information element dc_information_element for adigital component can include the selection value for the digitalcomponent and other data for the digital component.

Conceptually, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can calculate theselection result parameter “result” using relationship 5 below:

result=Σ_(i) is_dc_the_winner_(i)×dc_information_element_(i)

That is, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can determine, across allof the digital components, the sum of the products of the winnerparameter is_dc_the_winner_(i) and the digital component informationelement dc_information_element_(i). In this example, the selectionresult will either have a value zero if there are no candidate digitalcomponents or will have a value equal to the digital componentinformation element dc_information_element of the selected digitalcomponent that has a winner parameter is_dc_the_winner_(i) that is equalto one. In another example, the digital component information elementdc_information_element can be replaced in relationship 5 with theselection values for the digital components. In this example, theselection result will either have a value zero if there are no candidatedigital components or will have a value equal to the selection value ofthe selected digital component that has a winner parameteris_dc_the_winner_(i) that is equal to one.

To perform the calculation in secret shares, computing system MPC1 takesall of the digital components and multiplies the digital componentinformation element dc_information_element_(i) for the digitalcomponent, which can be in cleartext, by the first secret share of thewinner parameter [is_dc_the_winner_(i,1)] for the digital component. Thecomputing system MPC1 can then determine the sum of these products andreturn the sum to the client device 110 that submitted the digitalcomponent request. That is, computing system MPC1 can determine, as afirst secret share [result₁] of the result, the sum using relationship 6below:

[result₁]=Σ_(i)([is_dc_the_winner_(i)]×dc_information_element_(i))

The computing system MPC2 can perform a similar calculation to determinethe second secret share [result₂] of the result using relationship 7below:

[result₂]=Σ_(i)([is_dc_the_winner_(i)]×dc_information_element_(i))

The computing system MPC1 sends the first share of the selection result[result₁] to the client device 110 (422). Similarly, the computingsystem MPC2 sends the second share of the selection result [result₂] tothe client device 110 (424). The application 112 can then reconstructthe selection result result in cleartext using the two secret shares[result₁] and [result₂], e.g., by determining a sum of the secret sharesif additive secret share algorithms are adopted. If the selection resulthas a value of zero, then the MPC cluster 130 did not identify a digitalcomponent for distribution to the client device 110. Otherwise, theselection result has a value equal to a digital component informationelement dc_information_element. The application 112 can parse thedigital component information element dc_information_element to obtainthe selection value and the metadata for the digital component. Theapplication 112 can then either display the digital component or performa selection process using the digital component and other digitalcomponents received from an SSP 170, as described above.

In some implementations, the selected digital component is sent to theclient device 110 using a mask to prevent either computing system MPC1or MPC2 from being able to access the selected digital component incleartext and to reduce latency in sending the digital component to theclient device 110. In this example, the application 112 can select anonce for each digital component request and send the nonce with thedigital component request. The application 112 can send the nonce to oneof the computing systems MPC1 or MPC2. For the purpose of an example,assume that the nonce is sent to computing system MPC2.

Both the application 112 and the computing system MPC2 can independentlycalculate a mask of the same size as the largest digital componentcreative with the same algorithm and the same input. For example, thei_(th) bit of the mask can be represented as PRF(nonce, i), where PRFrepresents a pseudorandom function. Both the application 112 and thecomputing system MPC2 can keep the nonce and mask strictly confidentialfrom computing system MPC1.

To send the selected digital component to the application 112, computingsystem MPC2 can send [result₂] bitwise-XOR mask to computing systemMPC1. The computing system MPC1 then sends [result₁] bitwise-XOR([result₂] bitwise-XOR mask) to the application 112 as the selectionresult, e.g., as the response to the digital component request.

The application 112 can calculate [result₁] bitwise-XOR ([result₂]bitwise-XOR mask) bitwise-XOR mask as the creative for the digitalcomponent. This is equivalent to [result₁] bitwise-XOR [result₂]. Thisreduces the bandwidth required to the size of the largest creative,while preserving the private information retrieval guarantee. Thisreduces the bandwidth of the response relative to sending the two secretshares of the selection result, as described above. In this way, thereis little or no additional latency or bandwidth consumption in thisprivacy preserving technique relative to sending a digital componentcreative as in other processes.

For second value selection processes, the computing systems MPC1 andMPC2 can calculate secret shares of a second selection value parametermaybe_second_sv_(i) for each digital component. The second selectionvalue parameter for a digital component i can be a Boolean value thatrepresents whether the selection value for the digital component mightbe second highest selection value among the candidate digitalcomponents. The selection value would only be the second highestselection value among the candidate digital components if the digitalcomponent corresponding to the selection value is actually a candidatedigital component. Thus, the second selection value parametermaybe_second_sv_(i) for digital component i represents whether thedigital component would have the second highest selection value if thedigital component is actually a candidate digital component. Thecomputing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can perform a secret share equality testto determine secret shares of the second selection value parametermaybe_second_sv_(i)=(acc_(i)==1).

At the end of this equality test, computing system MPC1 has a firstsecret share [maybe_second_sv_(i,1)] of the second selection valueparameter maybe_second_sv_(i) for digital component i and computingsystem MPC2 has a second secret share [maybe_second_sv_(i,2)] of thesecond selection value parameter maybe_second_sv_(i) for digitalcomponent i.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can then determine the candidatedigital component having the second highest selection value in terms ofsecret shares by determining, for each digital component i, if theresult of is_dc_a_candidate_(i) AND maybe_second_sv_(i) is a Booleanvalue of true, or one. That is, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 candetermine which digital component is a candidate digital component andhas a second selection value parameter maybe_second_sv_(i) with aBoolean value of true, or one.

Conceptually, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can calculate thesecond highest selection value among the candidate using relationship 8below:

second_selection_value=Σ_(i)(selectionvalue_(i)×(is_dc_a_candidate_(i)AND maybe_second_sv_(i)))

In relationship 8, the parameter “selectionvalue_(i)” is the selectionvalue for digital component i (with any boost) and the parameter“second_selection_value” is the value of the second highest selectionvalue among the candidate digital components. Using relationship, thesecond selection value is the selection value for the digital componentthat is a candidate and has a second selection value parameter that hasa Boolean value of true. The Boolean values in this relationship can betreated as values of one (for true) or zero (for false).

In secret shares, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 calculate theresult of is_dc_a_candidate_(i) AND maybe_second_sv_(i) with secretshares, and represent the result as two additive secret shares in Z₂space (e.g., add then mod 2). In addition, the selection values are incleartext. Relationship 8 can be simplified by replacing themultiplication with a bitwise logical AND operation between each bit inthe selection value in cleartext representation, and the 1-bit secretshare of the result of is_dc_a_candidate_(i) AND maybe_second_sv_(i)held by each computing system MPC1 and MPC2. In addition, the summationcan be replaced with a bitwise XOR operation.

FIG. 5 is a swim lane diagram of an example process 500 for selecting adigital component for distribution to a client device. Operations of theprocess 500 can be implemented, for example, by the computing systemsMPC1 and MPC2 of the MPC cluster 130. Operations of the process 500 canalso be implemented as instructions stored on one or more computerreadable media which may be non-transitory, and execution of theinstructions by one or more data processing apparatus can cause the oneor more data processing apparatus to perform the operations of theprocess 500. As noted above, the process 500 can be used for selectionprocesses that include tiers.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 determine selection values fordigital components (502). The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can obtainor determine the selection values in response to receiving a digitalcomponent request from a client device 110. The computing system MPC1identifies eligible digital components that are eligible for the digitalcomponent selection process (504). The computing system MPC2 alsoidentifies eligible digital components that are eligible for the digitalcomponent selection process (506). For each eligible digital component,the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 determine whether the digitalcomponent is a candidate for the digital component selection process(508). The steps 502-508 can be the same, or similar to, steps 402-408of the process 400 illustrated in FIG. 4

The computing system MPC1 groups the digital components into tiers(510). As described above, a publisher can establish tiers for DSPs 150and/or digital component providers 160. The tiers for a publisher caninclude a highest priority tier, a lowest priority tier, and optionallyone or more tiers between the highest priority tier and the lowestpriority tier.

The computing system MPC1 can determine the tier for each digitalcomponent based on the DSP 150 or digital component provider 160corresponding to, e.g., that provided a selection value or vector ofvalues for, the digital component. The computing system MPC1 can thengroup the digital components into their respective tiers. Similarly, thecomputing system MPC2 can group the digital components into theirrespective tiers (512). The groups of digital components for the tiersshould be the same for both computing systems MPC1 and MPC2. In someimplementations, the SSP 170 explicitly determines and then encodes thetier into metadata for each selection value to be stored, e.g., cachedin the MPC cluster 130.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can then perform an individualselection process for each of one or more of the tiers to select adigital component to provide in response to the digital componentrequest (513). In some implementations, the computing systems MPC1 andMPC2 perform the selection processes for the tiers in parallel. In someimplementations, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 perform theselection processes in sequence, starting with the highest priority tierand moving down tier by tier until the selection process is performedfor all tiers. In some implementations, the computing systems MPC1 andMPC2 could stop once a candidate is found in a tier, but this could riskleaking user sensitive information to the computing systems MPC1 andMPC2. The steps in the dashed box are performed for each tier for whichan individual selection process is performed.

The computing system MPC1 orders the digital components that are groupedinto the tier by selection values (514). Selection values can be orderedfirst by tier priority, then by selection value within the same tier.Similarly, the computing system MPC2 orders the digital components thatare grouped into the tier by selection values (516). For each tier,these steps 514 and 516 are similar to steps 410 and 412 of the process400 illustrated in FIG. 4 . However, the orders only include the digitalcomponents included in the tier.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 collaborate to determine secretshares of an accumulated value acc_(i) for each digital component in thetier (518). As described above, the accumulated value for a givendigital component can represent a total number of candidate digitalcomponents from the top of the order to the selection value for thegiven digital component, excluding the given digital component even ifthe given digital component is a candidate. The computing systems MPC1and MPC2 can determine the accumulated value for the digital componentsin the tier in a similar manner as described above with reference tostep 414 of the process 400 of FIG. 4 .

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can determine their secret shares ofthe accumulated value acc for each digital component independentlywithout any roundtrip computations in some implementations depending onthe secret share algorithm. For example, computing system MPC1 candetermine, for each digital component i, a first share [acc_(i,1)] ofthe accumulated value acc by traversing all of the digital components inthe tier in order from highest to lowest and summing the candidateparameters is_dc_a_candidate for the digital components along the way,as described above with reference to Table 3. Similarly, computingsystem MPC2 can determine, for each digital component i, a second share[acc_(i,2)] of the accumulated value acc by traversing all of thedigital components in the tier in order from highest to lowest andsumming the candidate parameters is_dc_a_candidate for the digitalcomponents along the way.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 determine, for each candidatedigital component in the tier, secret shares of a result that indicateswhether the accumulated value equals a specified value (520). Thespecified value can be a value of zero, as shown in columns 3 and 4 ofTable 3. Within a tier, the digital component for which the accumulatedvalue is zero and the overall candidate parameter is_dc_a_candidate hasa Boolean value of true or one is the digital component having thehighest selection value among the candidate digital components in thetier, if any.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can engage in multiple rounds ofcomputations, e.g., multiple RPCs, as part of a secure MPC process tocalculate the equality operation acc_(i)==0 in terms of secret sharesfor each digital component i. The equality operation is used todetermine whether the accumulated value acc_(i) for the digitalcomponent i has a value of zero. At the end of this process, computingsystem MPC1 has, for each digital component i in the tier, one secretshare of the result acc_(i)==0, and computing system MPC2 has, for eachdigital component in the tier, the other secret share of the resultacc_(i)==0.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 determine secret shares of a winningparameter for each digital component in the tier (522). The computingsystems MPC1 and MPC2 can determine the winner parametersis_dc_the_winner_(i) based on, for each digital component i in the tier,the secret shares of the accumulated value acc_(i)==0 and the secretshares of the candidate parameter is_dc_a_candidate_(i) for each digitalcomponent i in the tier. The winner parameter is_dc_the_winner_(i) foreach digital component i can be a Boolean value that indicates whetherthe digital component i is the winner of the selection process for thetier, e.g., whether the digital component i is a candidate digitalcomponent and has the highest selection value among the candidatedigital components in the tier. In some implementations, computingsystem MPC1 and MPC2 can carry out secret share multiplication protocolto calculate, for each selection value, the winner parameteris_dc_the_winner_(i)=(is_dc_a_candidate_(i)×(acc_(i)==0)) in terms ofsecret shares.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 determine a selection result (524).The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can determine the selection resultby determining the highest tier that includes a digital component havinga winning parameter is_dc_the_winner_(i) with a value (e.g., Booleantrue or one) that indicates that the digital component is the winner forthe tier. This digital component is the winner of the overall digitalcomponent selection process. The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can usethe accumulated values to determine the highest tier that has a winnerparameter equal to true or one. For example, the computing systems MPC1and MPC2 can identify the highest tier for which the accumulated valuefor all digital components in the tier is not zero.

The computing system MPC1 provides a first secret share of the selectionresult to the client device 110 from which the digital component requestwas received (526). The computing system MPC2 provides a second secretshare of the selection result to the client device 110 from which thedigital component request was received (528).

In a second value selection process that includes tiers, a selectionvalue for a digital component is only eligible to provide the secondselection value for the selection process if the digital component is inthe same tier as the selected digital component. To determine the secondselection value, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can calculate, foreach tier t, a winning tier parameter maybe_winning_tier_(t) thatrepresents whether the tier t includes the digital component selectedfor distribution to the client device 110. Conceptually, the computingsystems MPC1 and MPC2 can calculate the winning tier parametermaybe_winning_tier_(t) for each tier t using relationship 9 below:

${{maybe\_ winning}{\_ tier}_{t}} = {\left( {\sum\limits_{i \in T}{{is\_ dc}{\_ a}{\_ candidate}_{i}}} \right)==0}$

In relationship 9, the parameter “T” represents all tiers with a higherpriority than tier t. Thus, the winning tier parametermaybe_winning_tier_(t) for a tier represents whether any higher prioritytier includes a candidate digital component. If not, the tier t is thewinning tier if it includes at least one candidate digital component.

The equality test between the sum and the value zero can also becalculated using an RPC between the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2.Multiple RPCs for various computations may be grouped together to asmaller number of RPCs to reduce latency and network bandwidthconsumption between the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can then determine whether thesecond selection value is set by the selection value for a given digitalcomponent based on a combination of the candidate parameteris_dc_a_candidate_(i) for the given digital component, the secondselection value parameter maybe_second_sv_(i) for the digital component(which can be calculated as described above with reference to FIG. 4 ),and the winning tier parameter maybe_winning_tier_(t) for the tier tthat includes the given digital component. For example, the secondselection value is set by the selection value of the given digitalcomponent when is_dc_a_candidate_(i) AND maybe_second_sv_(i) ANDmaybe_winning_tier_(t) for the given digital component has a Booleanvalue of true, or one.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can then determine the secondselection value using the selection value for the given digitalcomponent. For example, the second selection value can be equal to theselection value for the given digital component or the selection valuefor the given digital component plus a specified amount.

DSPs 150 and digital component providers 160 can often benefit fromknowing the highest other selection value of a digital component processso that they can optimize or improve the selection values that theyprovide for digital components in similar selection processes. Forexample, a DSP 150 whose digital component selected may benefit fromknowing how much higher its selection value was than the next highest.Similarly, a DSP 150 whose digital component was not selected maybenefit from knowing how much higher the selection value would need tobe in order for the digital component to be selected. When the DSPs 150and/or digital component providers 160 provide selection values based onthis information, the DSP 150 is more likely to achieve its objective,e.g., avoid waste due to overly high selection values, or avoid losingdigital component presentation opportunities due to low selectionvalues.

For the DSP 150 or digital component provider 160 whose digitalcomponent was selected, the highest other selection value is the secondhighest selection value. For all others, the highest other selectionvalue is the highest selection value. This is the same for both firstvalue selection processes and second value selection processes.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an example process 600 for determining a highestother selection value for digital components in a digital componentselection process. Operations of the process 600 can be implemented, forexample, by the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 of the MPC cluster 130.Operations of the process 600 can also be implemented as instructionsstored on one or more computer readable media which may benon-transitory, and execution of the instructions by one or more dataprocessing apparatus can cause the one or more data processing apparatusto perform the operations of the process 600.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 perform a digital componentselection process to select a digital component for distribution to aclient device (602). The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can collaborateusing a secure MPC process to select the digital component, as describedabove with reference to FIGS. 3-5 .

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 determine a first selection valuefor the digital component selection process (604). The first selectionvalue can be the selection value of the digital component selected fordistribution to the client device 110. For example, the first selectionvalue can be the highest selection value of the candidate digitalcomponents. If tiers are used, the first selection value can be thehighest selection value of the candidate digital component in thehighest priority tier that includes at least one candidate digitalcomponent.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can collaborate to determine thefirst selection value using a secure MPC process. Conceptually, thecomputing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can determine the first selection valueusing relationship 10 below:

firstselectionvalue = ∑(selection_value_(i) × (is_dc_a_candidate_(i)ANDmaybe_first_sv_(i)))

This sum can be across all of the digital components included in thedigital component selection process. The selection value(selection_value) for each digital component i can be in cleartext. Asdescribed above, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can calculatesecret shares of the candidate parameter is_dc_a_candidate_(i) and thefirst selection value parameter maybe_first_sv_(i). The computing systemMPC1 can store, for each digital component i, a first share[is_dc_a_candidate_(i,1)] of the candidate parameteris_dc_a_candidate_(i) and a first share [maybe_first_sv_(i,1)] of thefirst selection value parameter maybe_first_sv_(i). Similarly, computingsystem MPC2 can store, for each digital component i, a second share[is_dc_a_candidate_(i,2)] of the candidate parameteris_dc_a_candidate_(i) and a second share [maybe_first_sv_(i,2)] of thefirst selection value parameter maybe_first_sv_(i).

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 determine a second selection valuefor the digital component selection process (606). The second selectionvalue can be the next highest selection value behind the selection valueof the digital component selected for distribution to the client device110. For example, the second selection value can be the second highestselection value of the candidate digital components. If tiers are used,the second selection value can be the second highest selection value ofthe candidate digital component in the highest priority tier thatincludes at least one candidate digital component.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can collaborate to determine thesecond selection value using a secure MPC process. Conceptually, thecomputing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can determine the second selection valueusing relationship 11 below:

secondselectionvalue = ∑(selection_value_(i) × (is_dc_a_candidate_(i)ANDmaybe_second_sv_(i)))

This sum can be across all of the digital components included in thedigital component selection process. As described above, the computingsystems MPC1 and MPC2 can calculate secret shares of the candidateparameter is_dc_a_candidate_(i) and the second selection value parametermaybe_second_sv_(i). The computing system MPC1 can store, for eachdigital component i, a first share [maybe_second_sv_(i,1)] of the secondselection value parameter maybe_second_sv_(i). Similarly, computingsystem MPC2 can store, for each digital component i, a second share[maybe_second_sv_(i,2)] of the second selection value parametermaybe_second_sv_(i).

In relationships 10 and 11, the Boolean values true and false can betreated as one and zero, respectively. In secret shares, the computingsystems MPC1 and MPC2 calculate the result of the AND operation of bothrelationships 10 and 11 with secret shares (e.g., using an RPC betweenthe computing systems) and represent the result as two additive secretshares in Z₂ space (e.g., add then mod 2). Thus, each computing systemcan store a secret share of the first selection value and the secondselection value. For example, computing system MPC1 can store a firstshare of the first selection value and a first share of the secondselection value. Similarly, computing system MPC2 can store a secondshare of the first selection value and a second share of the secondselection value. The sum (e.g., add then mod 2) of the two shares of thefirst selection value equals the first selection value and the sum(e.g., add then mod 2) of the two shares of the second selection valueequals the second selection value.

Relationships 10 and 11 can be simplified by replacing themultiplication with a bitwise AND operation between each selection valuein the selection values (selection value) and the 1-bit secret share ofthe result of the AND operation between the candidate parameter and thefirst selection value parameter (or the second selection valueparameter) held by each computing system MPC1 and MPC2. In addition, thesummations of relationships 10 and 11 can be replaced with a bitwise XORoperation.

For each digital component, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2calculate the highest other selection value (608). The computing systemsMPC1 and MPC2 can calculate the highest other selection value for adigital component using a two step process in secret shares. Thecomputing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can calculate the winner parameteris_dc_the_winner_(i) for the digital component i. The computing systemsMPC1 and MPC2 can calculate the winner parameter is_dc_the_winner_(i)using the secret shares of the candidate parameter is_dc_a_candidate_(i)and the secret shares of the first selection value parametermaybe_first_sv_(i), e.g., is_dc_the_winner_(i)=is_dc_a_candidate_(i) ANDmaybe_rst_sv_(i).

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can then calculate the highest otherselection value (HOSV_(i)) for the digital component i usingrelationship 12:

HOSV_(i)=(is_dc_the_winner_(i)×second selectionvalue)+((1−is_dc_the_winner_(i))×first selection value)

Because the winner parameter, first selection value, and secondselection value are held by the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 insecret shares, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 determines thehighest other selection value in collaboration using a RPC between thetwo computing systems MPC1 and MPC2.

At the end of this process, the computing system MPC1 stores a firstshare [HOSV_(i,1)] of the highest other selection value for the digitalcomponent i and the computing system MPC2 stores a second share[HOSV_(i,2)] of the highest other selection value for the digitalcomponent i.

The computing system MPC1 sends the first share of the highest otherselection value for each digital component, e.g., to the DSP 150 ordigital component 160 corresponding to the digital component (610).Similarly, the computing system MPC2 sends the second share of thehighest other selection value for each digital component, e.g., to theDSP 150 or digital component 160 corresponding to the digital component(612). In some implementations, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2provide the shares to an aggregation service that aggregates theinformation for each DSP 150 and/or each digital component provider 160.

The recipient of the two secret shares can combine the shares to derivethe highest other selection value for the digital component in thedigital component selection process. For example, if an additive secretsharing algorithm is used, the recipient can derive the highest otherselection value by adding the two shares.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can send additional data with thehighest other selection value. For example, the computing systems MPC1and MPC2 can send the contextual signals of the digital componentselection process, e.g., the lookup key, with its share of the highestother selection value. In this way, the landscape of selection valuesfor digital component selection processes having the same or similarcontext can be calculated using the highest other selection values fordigital component selection processes having the same or similarcontext.

In some implementations, to increase performance, the computing systemsMPC1 and MPC2 can calculate the highest other selection valuesasynchronously after the selection result of the digital componentselection process is provided to the client device 110. This reduces thelatency in transmitting and displaying the digital component. In someimplementations, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can calculate thehighest other selection values when the load on the computing systemsMPC1 and MPC2 are lower than a baseline load.

For selection processes that include floors for selection values, extrasteps can be taken to accurately calculate the highest other selectionvalue. The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can calculate the highestother selection values as described with reference to FIG. 6 . Thecomputing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can then adjust the highest otherselection values to account for the floors, e.g., so that no selectionvalue is smaller than the applicable floor.

Let H denote the calculated highest other selection value and F denotethe applicable floor. The final highest other selection value would be(H>F)×H+(1−H>F, which is equivalent to F+(H>F)×(H−F).

To protect user privacy, H is in the form of secret shares. Eachcomputing system MPC1 and MPC2 hold one of the secret shares [H₁] and[H₂] respectively. The computing system MPC1 can calculate a first shareof the final highest other selection value in secret shares usingrelationship 13:

[HOSV₁]=F+([H ₁]>F)×([H ₁]−F)

Similarly, computing system MPC2 can calculate a second share of thefinal highest other selection value in secret shares using relationship14:

[HOSV₂]=F+([H ₂]>F)×([H ₂]−F)

This process of calculating the highest other selection value fordigital component processes that include floors can employ three or morerounds of RPCs for comparison tests and one round for multiplication.

When tiers and/or boosts are used in a digital component selectionprocess, the first selection value, e.g., the selection value for theselected digital component, may be lower than the highest selectionvalue among the candidate digital components. For example, if acandidate digital component in the highest priority tier has a lowerselection value than a candidate digital component in a lower prioritytier, the candidate digital component in the higher priority tier may beselected although it has a lower selection value. Similarly, a digitalcomponent may receive a boost that makes the selection value used in thedigital component selection value higher than a non-boosted (or lowerboosted) digital component such that the publisher receives less than itwould have if the non-boosted digital component was selected. The MPCcluster 130 can determine a difference between the two values so thatpublishers can analyze the opportunity cost associated with tiers and/orboosts.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an example process 700 for determining adifference between a first selection value of a real digital componentselection process and a counterfactual digital component selectionprocess. Operations of the process 700 can be implemented, for example,by the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 of the MPC cluster 130.Operations of the process 700 can also be implemented as instructionsstored on one or more computer readable media which may benon-transitory, and execution of the instructions by one or more dataprocessing apparatus can cause the one or more data processing apparatusto perform the operations of the process 700.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 perform a real digital componentselection process (702). The computing systems MP1 and MPC2 can performa real digital component selection process to select a digital componentto provide to a client device 110 in response to a digital componentrequest. The real digital component selection process can include tiersfor the digital components and/or boosts for one or more of the digitalcomponents included in the digital component selection process. Forexample, the real digital component process should be the same as orsimilar to the processes of FIGS. 3-5 .

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 perform a counterfactual digitalcomponent selection process (704). The steps of the counterfactualdigital component process can be similar to the steps of the realdigital component selection process. However, in the counterfactualdigital component selection process, the tiers and/or boosts of the realdigital component selection process are removed. If the real digitalcomponent selection process includes tiers (e.g., as in the process 400of FIG. 4 ), the counterfactual digital component selection process hasall of the digital components in one group (e.g., as in the process 500of FIG. 5 ). If the real digital component selection process includedboosting the selection value for one or more digital components, thoseboosts are removed in the counterfactual digital component selectionprocess. That is, the selection values in the counterfactual digitalcomponent selection process can be the received selection values ratherthan the boosted selection values.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 determine a clearing value for thereal digital component selection process (706). This clearing value canbe based on the selection value for the selected digital component. Forexample, the clearing value can be the amount of the selection valuethat will actually be provided to the publisher for displaying theselected digital component. If the selection value for the digitalcomponent was boosted, the boost amount would only impact the order ofthe selection values when determining the accumulated value for eachcandidate digital component in operation 414.

For second value selection processes, the clearing value would be basedon the next highest selection value after the selection value for theselected digital component. If tiers are used with a second selectionvalue process, the next highest value would be the next highest value inthe same tier as the selected digital component. If there is no suchcandidate digital component in the same tier, the next highest value canbe a minimum value for the digital component selection process.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 determine a clearing value for thecounterfactual digital component selection process (708). This clearingvalue can be based on the digital component selected in thecounterfactual digital component selection process. For second valueselection processes, the clearing value would be based on the nexthighest selection value after the selection value for the selecteddigital component, similar to the clearing value for the real digitalcomponent selection process.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 determine a difference between thetwo clearing values (710). The computing systems MPC1 and MPCs candetermine the difference by subtracting the clearing value for thecounterfactual digital component selection process from the clearingvalue for the real digital component selection value.

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 provide the difference to arecipient (712). For example, one of the computing systems can providethe difference to the publisher of the resource or application contentwith which the digital component was displayed after selection. Inanother example, one of the computing systems can provide the differenceto an aggregation server that aggregates the differences for thepublisher. In either example, the computing system can provide, withdata indicating the difference, the contextual signals, e.g., the lookupkey, for the real digital component selection process and dataidentifying the publisher (if sent to an aggregation server).

The aggregation server can aggregate the differences reported for eachpublisher and provide data, e.g., in the form of an interactive userinterface, indicating the opportunity cost of the use of tiers and/orboosts. In some implementations, the computing system MPC1 or MPC2 canalso provide the selection result to the aggregation server for eachreal digital component selection process. In this way, the aggregationserver can aggregate the opportunity cost for each DSP 150 and/ordigital component provider 160.

To reduce latency in providing the selected digital component of thereal digital component selection process to the client device 110, someor all of steps 704-712 of the process 700 can be performedasynchronously, e.g., after the selection result is provided to theclient device 110.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an example process 800 for determiningwhether a user is a member of a user group using a Bloom filter sentusing secret shares. Operations of the process 800 can be implemented,for example, by an application 112 running on a client device 110 andcomputing systems MPC1 and MPC2 of the MPC cluster 130 of FIG. 1 .Operations of the process 800 can also be implemented as instructionsstored on one or more computer readable media which may benon-transitory, and execution of the instructions by one or more dataprocessing apparatus can cause the one or more data processing apparatusto perform the operations of the process 800.

Sending data representing a user's group membership using a Bloom filtercan reduce the amount of data being sent and preserve user privacy asthe data identifying the user groups for the user is not being sent incleartext. To prevent the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 from beingable to access a user's group membership in cleartext, the application112 can send respective shares, e.g., secret shares of the Bloom filterto each computing system 112 rather than the full Bloom filter to eachcomputing system MPC1 and MPC2. However, this can require sending dataequivalent to sending two Bloom filters, one to each computing systemMPC1 and MPC2. To prevent this and further reduce the amount of datasent from the client device 110 across the network 105 to the computingsystems MPC1 and MPC2, the application 112 can send a first arraygenerated using a nonce and the original bloom filter created by theapplication 112 to one of the computing systems, e.g., computing systemMPC1, and just the nonce to the other computing system MPC2. In this wayonly one array is sent from the client device 110. As the nonce can besmall, e.g., 16 bytes, this greatly reduces the amount of data sent fromthe client device 110, which reduces bandwidth consumption, latency, andbattery consumption of the client device 110.

Although the process 800 is described in terms of a Bloom filterrepresenting a user's membership in user groups, a similar process canbe used to generate a Bloom filter for representing blocked digitalcomponents and to query whether a digital component is blocked. In thatexample, the Bloom filter would represent identifiers of blocked digitalcomponents rather than identifiers for user groups.

The configuration of the Bloom filter can be adapted for transmissionand/or processing by the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2. The parametersof the Bloom filter include the number of user groups that can berepresented by a Bloom filter, the desired false positive rate of theBloom filter, the number of hash functions used to generate the Bloomfilter and test whether an element is included in the Bloom filter, andthe size of the Bloom filter.

By reducing the number of hash functions, the computational burden onthe computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 is reduced when querying whether auser is a member of a user group. However, this can increase the falsepositive rate if the size of the Bloom filter remains constant. If thereis a target false positive rate, reducing the hash functions may resultin a larger Bloom filter size, which can increase the amount of consumedbandwidth. Thus, the parameters of the Bloom filter can be selectedusing a tradeoff between bandwidth/battery consumption and computationalburden on the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2.

The application 112 generates a Bloom filter (802). The application 112can generate the Bloom filter using the user group identifiers for theuser groups that include the user of the application 112 as a member. Todo so, the application 112 uses each hash function for the Bloom filterto map a user group identifier to one of the positions in the Bloomfilter. The application 112 can perform this operation for each usergroup identifier for the user. When constructing a Bloom filter forblocked digital components, the application 112 can apply each hashfunction for the Bloom filter for blocked digital components to theidentifier for each blocked digital component. The Bloom filter is a bitarray A of size N. Each bit of the Bloom filter is either a zero or aone, i.e., A[i]ϵ{0,1}.

The application 112 and the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can agree ona pseudorandom function (PRF) in advance. The PRF can take twoparameters and generate a PRF number in {0, 1} inclusively.

The application 112 selects a nonce (804). For each digital componentrequest, the application 112 can select, e.g., randomly orpseudorandomly, a nonce to be shared with only one of the computingsystems MPC1 or MPC2. In this example, the nonce is shared withcomputing system MPC2.

The application 112 calculates a first array A₁ using the Bloom filterand the nonce (806). The application 112 can calculate the first arrayA₁ using the agreed upon PRF. For example, the application 112 cancalculate the first array A1 using relationship 15:

A ₁[i]=A[i] XOR PRF(nonce,i)

In relationship 15, the XOR operation is a bitwise XOR operation.

The application 112 sends the first array to computing system MPC1(808). The application 112 also sends the nonce to computing system MPC2(810).

The computing system MPC2 calculates a second array A₂ using the nonce(812). The computing system MPC2 can calculate the second array A2 usingthe nonce and the PRF. For example, computing system MPC2 can calculatethe second array A2 using relationship 16:

A ₂[i]=PRF(nonce,i)

The computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 use the first array A₁ and thesecond array A₂ to determine whether the user is a member of one or moreuser groups (814). In general, a Bloom filter can be queried by applyingeach hash function of the Bloom filter to a user group identifier todetermine an element of the Bloom filter corresponding to the hashfunction and the user group identifier. If, for the user identifier, theelement for each hash function has a value of one, this would representthat the user is a member of the group. Of course, there can be somefalse positives due to the nature of Bloom filters.

As neither computing system MPC1 nor MPC2 has access to the completeBloom filter (instead each only has a secret share of the Bloom filter),the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can use a cryptographic protocol todetermine whether the user is a member of a user group identifier by auser group identifier. Some example cryptographic protocols that can beused include a garbled circuit and the Goldreich-Micali-Wigderson (GMW)protocol.

In either algorithm, the input to the algorithm (conceptually) are thesecret shares of the Bloom filter, i.e., the first array A₁ and thesecond array A₂. The outputs are secret shares for a set of Booleanmessages, one for each digital component, i.e. whether the user is amember of the user group associated with the corresponding digitalcomponent.

In GMW protocol, one of the MPC computing systems, e.g., computingsystem MPC1, creates a truth table, one row per possible bit pattern forthe secret shares owned by computing system MPC2. The computing systemMPC1 selects, e.g., randomly, its own secret share for the results, andcalculates computing system MPC2's secret share for each row, based onits own secret shares for the result, and the possibly computing systemMPC2's secret shares corresponding to the row. After the truth table isconstructed, computing system MPC2 fetches one and only one row from thetable, based on its own secret shares, using an oblivious transferprotocol. In this protocol, one computing system transfers one ofmultiple pieces of information to the other computing system but doesnot know which piece (if any) has been transferred. This oblivioustransfer protocol guarantees that the process does not leak anyinformation to any party.

The result of querying the Bloom filter for a given user groupidentifier is secret shares of a user group membership conditionparameter for each hash function. The secret shares of the user groupmembership condition parameter can be used in the digital componentselection process to determine whether a digital component correspondingto the user group is a candidate for the digital component selectionprocess. For example, if 10 hash functions are used, computing systemMPC1 would have 10 first secret shares of a user group membershipcondition parameter for each user group identifier. Similarly, computingsystem MPC2 would have 10 second secret shares of a user groupmembership condition parameter for each user group identifier.

If the Bloom filter represents identifiers for blocked digitalcomponents, the computing systems MPC1 and MPC2 can reconstruct thesecond array and query the Bloom filter in a similar manner. The resultof querying this Bloom filter for a given digital component is a blockedcondition parameter for each hash function. The secret shares of theblocked condition parameter can be used in the digital componentselection process to determine whether the digital component is acandidate for the digital component selection process.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example MPC computing system 900. Any ofthe MPC computing systems described in this document can be implementedusing the MPC computing system 900. Alternatively, an MPC computingsystem can be implemented as one or more servers. However, thearchitecture and configuration of MPC computing system 900 provides manyperformance improvements relative to using a generic server arrangement.

The MPC computing system 900 includes a load balancer 910, a servingpool 920, and a log processor pool 940. The computing system 900 alsogenerates, updates, and otherwise maintains logs 930 and snapshots 950.

In some implementations, the MPC computing systems 900 are deployed invarious geographic regions to reduce the latency in selecting digitalcomponents and providing digital components to client devices 110. Forexample, an MPC cluster having two or more MPC computing systems 900 canbe deployed in each region of a set of regions. If each MPC clusterincludes two MPC computing systems, e.g., MPC1 and MPC2, each region caninclude a pair of MPC computing systems 900 operated by differentparties. Each instance of MPC1 across all of the regions can be operatedby a first party and each instance of MPC2 across all regions can beoperated by a second party different from the first party.

The MPC cluster in a region can perform the digital component selectionprocess for digital component requests generated by client devices 110in the region. For example, the instructions for a digital componentslot, e.g., tag, that is sent to a client device 110 in a particularregion can include a reference to the network location of the MPCcomputing systems 900 in the particular region. In this way, theapplication 112 sends the digital component request and notifications tothe MPC computing systems 900 in the appropriate region. In anotherexample, a Domain Name Service (DNS) or the load balancer 910 selectsthe MPC computing system 900 that is closest in physical distance to theclient device 110.

The MPC1 in a region can collaborate with the MPC2 in the same region toselect digital components and update logs based on received requests.This reduces the latency and consumed bandwidth in performingcollaborative computations that require roundtrips between the MPCcomputing systems 900 as the distance between the MPC computing systems900 is reduced. This also reduces the latency and consumed bandwidth indata transmissions, e.g., digital component requests, digital componentresponses, and impression notifications, between client devices 110 andMPC computing systems 900.

In some implementations, the log processor pool 940 is only enabled in aproper subset of the regions for creating and publishing snapshots tothe MPC computing systems 900 in the other regions. For example, therecan be a first MPC computing system MPC1 in each region that is operatedby a first party. A subset of these first MPC computing systems cancreate the snapshots for all of the first MPC computing systems andpublish the snapshots to the other first MPC computing systems.Similarly, there can be a second MPC computing system MPC2 in eachregion that is operated by a second party. A subset of these second MPCcomputing systems can create the snapshots for all of the second MPCcomputing systems and publish the snapshots to the other second MPCcomputing systems. Importantly, the first MPC computing systems do notshare logs or snapshots with second MPC computing systems and vice versato preserve user privacy. However, the first computing systems and thesecond computing systems do perform secure MPC processes to process thedata in the logs as at least some of the data is sensitive and/orconfidential and should not be accessible by either computing system incleartext. To do so efficiently and without increased latency orbandwidth consumption, the subset of the first MPC computing systems andthe subset of the second MPC computing systems can be in the sameregion.

The load balancer 910 receives requests from applications 112 running onclient devices 110. These requests, which can be in the form of HTTPrequests in some examples, can include digital component requests andnotifications. The notifications can include impression notificationsthat notify the MPC computing system 900 that a digital component wasdisplayed at a client device 110 and optionally whether a userinteracted with the digital component. An impression notification canalso include additional information, such as a selection processidentifier that identifies the digital component selection process inwhich the displayed digital component was displayed. For k-anonymityconditions, an impression notification can also include data identifyingthe winner of the actual digital component process and the winner of thecounterfactual selection process so that the MPC computing system 900can update the impression count for each digital component.

The load balancer 910 can assign requests to processors of the servingpool 920 in a way that balances the loads between the processors in theserving pool 920. For example, the load balancer 910 can alternatebetween the processors in order or monitor the load of each processorand assign the requests based on current load.

The serving pool 920 includes multiple processors, each of which can beimplemented as, for example, one or more microprocessors, one or moreserver-class computers, and/or one or more application-specificintegrated circuits (ASICs). The processors of the serving pool processthe incoming requests, which are typically latency sensitive. Forexample, a processor of the serving pool 920 can perform the digitalcomponent selection process in collaboration with a processor of anotherMPC computing system 900. A processor of the serving pool 920 can alsoupdate the logs 930 based on completed digital component processesand/or received notifications.

The processors of the serving pool 920 can maintain a current databasefor the stored digital components. This database can include the currentvalues for the parameters and/or conditions for the digital component.For example, the database can include, for each stored digitalcomponent, the selection value(s) or vectors, the secret shares of theparameter for at least some of the conditions, e.g., for conditions thatcan be computed offline such as k-anonymity and pacing, remainingbudget, the number of impressions (e.g., for the k-anonymity condition),and/or other data for the digital components that is used in the digitalcomponent selection processes described in this document.

In some implementations, the database of the serving pool is thesnapshots. For example, each snapshot can have a version identifier thatidentifies the version of the snapshot. Both MPC systems should beoperating using the same versions of snapshots.

The logs 930 can include multiple types of logs that store variousinformation related to the digital components stored by an MPC cluster.For example, the logs 930 can include a log for storing digitalcomponents and their corresponding data, e.g., selection values,selection value vectors, lookup keys, corresponding user groupidentifier(s), conditions, and/or other appropriate information.

The logs 930 can include logs of information for completed digitalcomponent requests. Such a log can include the selection processidentifier for each digital component selection process, the clearingvalue for the digital component selection process, and the parametersfor each digital component that was included in the digital componentselection process. These parameters can include, for example, secretshares of the candidate parameter, the winning parameter, the selectionvalue, and/or the accumulated value for the digital component.

The logs 930 can include logs for parameters used to determine whetherconditions for the digital components are satisfied. For example, such alog can include, for each digital component, the number of impressions,the number of selections, the number of conversions, the total budget,the remaining budget, and/or the number of times the digital componentcould have been presented (e.g., the number of times it was selected inthe counterfactual selection process for k-anonymity). To protect userprivacy and the confidentiality of sensitive user data, in someimplementations, the logs 930 contain secret shares of aboveinformation.

The log processor pool 940 can include processors (e.g.,microprocessors, servers, or ASICs) that process the logs 930 andgenerate snapshots 950 based on the logs. Each snapshot includes anupdate for the database maintained by the processors of the serving pool920. For example, if a digital component was selected and displayed at aclient device 110, a snapshot can include an updated remaining budgetfor the digital component and an updated number of impressions for thedigital component. The log processor pool 940 can generate the snapshotsbased on updated data in the logs 930 and publish the snapshots to theprocessors of the serving pool 920. The processors of the log processorpool 900 can also publish the snapshots to other MPC computing systemsoperated by the same party, e.g., if the log processor pool 940 is onlyenabled at some MPC computing systems 900.

To reduce latency in responding to requests, the processors of theserving pool 920 can process these requests immediately after receivingthe requests. Processes that are not as time sensitive can be handled bythe processors of the log processor pool 940. For example, the servingpool 920 can perform any processes on the critical path of selecting andproviding a digital component to a client device 110. The log processorpool 940 can perform any processes that are not on the critical path.However, updates to the databases should occur quickly to ensure thatdigital components are being selected using up to date information.Thus, using a different set of processors as provided by thearchitecture shown in FIG. 9 enables both the digital componentselection process and the updates to the databases to be performed veryrapidly.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an example computer system 1000 that canbe used to perform operations described above. The system 1000 includesa processor 1010, a memory 1020, a storage device 1030, and aninput/output device 1040. Each of the components 1010, 1020, 1030, and1040 can be interconnected, for example, using a system bus 1050. Theprocessor 1010 is capable of processing instructions for executionwithin the system 1000. In some implementations, the processor 1010 is asingle-threaded processor. In another implementation, the processor 1010is a multi-threaded processor. The processor 1010 is capable ofprocessing instructions stored in the memory 1020 or on the storagedevice 1030.

The memory 1020 stores information within the system 1000. In oneimplementation, the memory 1020 is a computer-readable medium. In someimplementations, the memory 1020 is a volatile memory unit. In anotherimplementation, the memory 1020 is a non-volatile memory unit.

The storage device 1030 is capable of providing mass storage for thesystem 1000. In some implementations, the storage device 1030 is acomputer-readable medium. In various different implementations, thestorage device 1030 can include, for example, a hard disk device, anoptical disk device, a storage device that is shared over a network bymultiple computing devices (e.g., a cloud storage device), or some otherlarge capacity storage device.

The input/output device 1040 provides input/output operations for thesystem 1000. In some implementations, the input/output device 1040 caninclude one or more of a network interface devices, e.g., an Ethernetcard, a serial communication device, e.g., and RS-232 port, and/or awireless interface device, e.g., and 802.11 card. In anotherimplementation, the input/output device can include driver devicesconfigured to receive input data and send output data to externaldevices 1060, e.g., keyboard, printer and display devices. Otherimplementations, however, can also be used, such as mobile computingdevices, mobile communication devices, set-top box television clientdevices, etc.

Although an example processing system has been described in FIG. 10 ,implementations of the subject matter and the functional operationsdescribed in this specification can be implemented in other types ofdigital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, orhardware, including the structures disclosed in this specification andtheir structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them.

Embodiments of the subject matter and the operations described in thisspecification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or incomputer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structuresdisclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or incombinations of one or more of them. Embodiments of the subject matterdescribed in this specification can be implemented as one or morecomputer programs, i.e., one or more modules of computer programinstructions, encoded on computer storage media (or medium) forexecution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus.Alternatively, or in addition, the program instructions can be encodedon an artificially-generated propagated signal, e.g., amachine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, thatis generated to encode information for transmission to suitable receiverapparatus for execution by a data processing apparatus. A computerstorage medium can be, or be included in, a computer-readable storagedevice, a computer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial accessmemory array or device, or a combination of one or more of them.Moreover, while a computer storage medium is not a propagated signal, acomputer storage medium can be a source or destination of computerprogram instructions encoded in an artificially-generated propagatedsignal. The computer storage medium can also be, or be included in, oneor more separate physical components or media (e.g., multiple CDs,disks, or other storage devices).

The operations described in this specification can be implemented asoperations performed by a data processing apparatus on data stored onone or more computer-readable storage devices or received from othersources.

The term “data processing apparatus” encompasses all kinds of apparatus,devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example aprogrammable processor, a computer, a system on a chip, or multipleones, or combinations, of the foregoing. The apparatus can includespecial purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gatearray) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Theapparatus can also include, in addition to hardware, code that createsan execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g.,code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a databasemanagement system, an operating system, a cross-platform runtimeenvironment, a virtual machine, or a combination of one or more of them.The apparatus and execution environment can realize various differentcomputing model infrastructures, such as web services, distributedcomputing and grid computing infrastructures.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, orother unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computerprogram may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. Aprogram can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programsor data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup languagedocument), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or inmultiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules,sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployedto be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are locatedat one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by acommunication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform actions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application-specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors.Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from aread-only memory or a random access memory or both. The essentialelements of a computer are a processor for performing actions inaccordance with instructions and one or more memory devices for storinginstructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or beoperatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both,one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic,magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computer need nothave such devices. Moreover, a computer can be embedded in anotherdevice, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), amobile audio or video player, a game console, a Global PositioningSystem (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device (e.g., a universalserial bus (USB) flash drive), to name just a few. Devices suitable forstoring computer program instructions and data include all forms ofnon-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way ofexample semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flashmemory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removabledisks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. Theprocessor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in,special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subjectmatter described in this specification can be implemented on a computerhaving a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquidcrystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and akeyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by whichthe user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices canbe used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example,feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g.,visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input fromthe user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, ortactile input. In addition, a computer can interact with a user bysending documents to and receiving documents from a device that is usedby the user; for example, by sending web pages to a web browser on auser's client device in response to requests received from the webbrowser.

Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can beimplemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component,e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g.,an application server, or that includes a front-end component, e.g., aclient computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browserthrough which a user can interact with an implementation of the subjectmatter described in this specification, or any combination of one ormore such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The componentsof the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digitaldata communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a widearea network (“WAN”), an inter-network (e.g., the Internet), andpeer-to-peer networks (e.g., ad hoc peer-to-peer networks).

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other. In someembodiments, a server transmits data (e.g., an HTML page) to a clientdevice (e.g., for purposes of displaying data to and receiving userinput from a user interacting with the client device). Data generated atthe client device (e.g., a result of the user interaction) can bereceived from the client device at the server.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinventions or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures specific to particular embodiments of particular inventions.Certain features that are described in this specification in the contextof separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in asingle embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described inthe context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multipleembodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the embodiments described above should not be understoodas requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should beunderstood that the described program components and systems cangenerally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described.Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In somecases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a differentorder and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processesdepicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require theparticular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallelprocessing may be advantageous.

1. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, by a firstserver of a secure multi-party computation (MPC) system and from aclient device, a digital component request; identifying, for eachdigital component in a set of digital components, a selection value forthe digital component and a priority tier for the digital component; foreach of a plurality of priority tiers: determining, using a secure MPCprocess in collaboration with one or more second servers of the secureMPC system, a first secret share of a winner parameter for each digitalcomponent in the priority tier, comprising: determining, for eachdigital component in the priority tier, a first secret share of acandidate parameter that indicates whether the digital component is acandidate for selection; and determining a secret share of the winnerparameter for each digital component in the priority tier based on (i)the first secret share of a value of the candidate parameter for eachdigital component in the priority tier, (ii) one or more second secretshares of the candidate parameter for each digital component in thepriority tier, and the selection value for each digital component in thepriority tier; identifying a highest tier of the plurality of tiers forwhich a given digital component has a winner parameter that indicatesthat the given digital component is a winning digital component for thetier; and providing, to the client device, a first secret share of aselection result identifying the given digital component.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining, using thesecure MPC process in collaboration with one or more second servers ofthe secure MPC system, the first secret share of the winner parameterfor each digital component in the priority tier comprises determiningthe first secret share of the winner parameter for each digitalcomponent in each priority tier in parallel.
 3. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein determining, using the secure MPC process incollaboration with one or more second servers of the secure MPC system,the first secret share of the winner parameter for each digitalcomponent in the priority tier comprises determining the first secretshare of the winner parameter for each digital component in eachpriority tier in a sequence from a highest priority tier to a lowestpriority tier.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, whereindetermining, for each digital component in the priority tier, a firstsecret share of a candidate parameter that indicates whether the digitalcomponent is a candidate for selection comprises determining, incollaboration with each of the one or more second servers, the firstsecret share of the candidate parameter for a particular digitalcomponent based on secret shares for one or more conditions for theparticular digital component.
 5. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein identifying, for each digital component in the set ofdigital components, the selection value for the digital componentcomprises: identifying, for a given content platform, a boostestablished by a publisher of an electronic resource for which thedigital component request was received or a content platform for thepublisher; and adjusting the selection value for each digital componentof the content platform using the boost.
 6. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a selection valuefloor established by a publisher of an electronic resource for which thedigital component request was received; and filtering, from the set ofdigital components, one or more digital components having a selectionvalue that is less than the selection value floor.
 7. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining a secretshare of the winner parameter for each digital component in the prioritytier comprises: ordering the digital components in the priority tierbased on the selection value for each digital component in the prioritytier; determining, a first secret share of an accumulated value for eachdigital component in the tier based at least on the order and the firstsecret share of the candidate parameter for each digital component inthe priority tier, wherein the accumulated value for a digital componentindicates a quantity of candidate digital components in the prioritytier having a higher selection value than the digital component; and foreach digital component in the priority tier, determining the firstsecret share of the winner parameter for the digital component based onthe first secret share of the candidate parameter for the digitalcomponent, each of the one or more second secret shares of the candidateparameter for the digital component, and the accumulated value for thedigital component.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7,further comprising determining a second selection value corresponding toa second value selection process, comprising: determining, for eachpriority tier, a first secret share of a winning tier parameter thatrepresents whether the given digital component is included in thepriority tier; determining, for each digital component in the set ofdigital components, a first secret share of a second selection valueparameter that represents whether the selection value for the digitalcomponent might be second highest selection value among a set ofcandidate digital components; and identifying, as the second selectionvalue, a selection value for a digital component for which (i) thecandidate parameter for the digital component indicates that the digitalcomponent is a candidate for selection, (ii) the winning tier parameterindicates that the given digital component is included in the winningtier, and (iii) the second selection value parameter that indicates thatthe selection value for the digital component might be second highestselection value among a set of candidate digital components.
 9. A systemcomprising: a first server comprising one or more processors; and one ormore storage devices storing instructions that, when executed by the oneor more processors, cause the one or more processors to performoperations comprising: receiving, by the first server of a securemulti-party computation (MPC) system and from a client device, a digitalcomponent request; identifying, for each digital component in a set ofdigital components, a selection value for the digital component and apriority tier for the digital component; for each of a plurality ofpriority tiers: determining, using a secure MPC process in collaborationwith one or more second servers of the secure MPC system, a first secretshare of a winner parameter for each digital component in the prioritytier, comprising: determining, for each digital component in thepriority tier, a first secret share of a candidate parameter thatindicates whether the digital component is a candidate for selection;and determining a secret share of the winner parameter for each digitalcomponent in the priority tier based on (i) the first secret share of avalue of the candidate parameter for each digital component in thepriority tier, (ii) one or more second secret shares of the candidateparameter for each digital component in the priority tier, and theselection value for each digital component in the priority tier;identifying a highest tier of the plurality of tiers for which a givendigital component has a winner parameter that indicates that the givendigital component is a winning digital component for the tier; andproviding, to the client device, a first secret share of a selectionresult identifying the given digital component.
 10. (canceled) 11.(canceled)
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein determining, using thesecure MPC process in collaboration with one or more second servers ofthe secure MPC system, the first secret share of the winner parameterfor each digital component in the priority tier comprises determiningthe first secret share of the winner parameter for each digitalcomponent in each priority tier in parallel.
 13. The system of claim 9,wherein determining, using the secure MPC process in collaboration withone or more second servers of the secure MPC system, the first secretshare of the winner parameter for each digital component in the prioritytier comprises determining the first secret share of the winnerparameter for each digital component in each priority tier in a sequencefrom a highest priority tier to a lowest priority tier.
 14. The systemof claim 9, wherein determining, for each digital component in thepriority tier, a first secret share of a candidate parameter thatindicates whether the digital component is a candidate for selectioncomprises determining, in collaboration with each of the one or moresecond servers, the first secret share of the candidate parameter for aparticular digital component based on secret shares for one or moreconditions for the particular digital component.
 15. The system of claim9, wherein identifying, for each digital component in the set of digitalcomponents, the selection value for the digital component comprises:identifying, for a given content platform, a boost established by apublisher of an electronic resource for which the digital componentrequest was received or a content platform for the publisher; andadjusting the selection value for each digital component of the contentplatform using the boost.
 16. The system of claim 9, wherein theoperations comprise: identifying a selection value floor established bya publisher of an electronic resource for which the digital componentrequest was received; and filtering, from the set of digital components,one or more digital components having a selection value that is lessthan the selection value floor.
 17. The system of claim 9, whereindetermining a secret share of the winner parameter for each digitalcomponent in the priority tier comprises: ordering the digitalcomponents in the priority tier based on the selection value for eachdigital component in the priority tier; determining, a first secretshare of an accumulated value for each digital component in the tierbased at least on the order and the first secret share of the candidateparameter for each digital component in the priority tier, wherein theaccumulated value for a digital component indicates a quantity ofcandidate digital components in the priority tier having a higherselection value than the digital component; and for each digitalcomponent in the priority tier, determining the first secret share ofthe winner parameter for the digital component based on the first secretshare of the candidate parameter for the digital component, each of theone or more second secret shares of the candidate parameter for thedigital component, and the accumulated value for the digital component.18. The system of claim 17, wherein the operations comprise determininga second selection value corresponding to a second value selectionprocess, comprising: determining, for each priority tier, a first secretshare of a winning tier parameter that represents whether the givendigital component is included in the priority tier; determining, foreach digital component in the set of digital components, a first secretshare of a second selection value parameter that represents whether theselection value for the digital component might be second highestselection value among a set of candidate digital components; andidentifying, as the second selection value, a selection value for adigital component for which (i) the candidate parameter for the digitalcomponent indicates that the digital component is a candidate forselection, (ii) the winning tier parameter indicates that the givendigital component is included in the winning tier, and (iii) the secondselection value parameter that indicates that the selection value forthe digital component might be second highest selection value among aset of candidate digital components.
 19. A non-transitory computerreadable storage medium carrying instructions that, when executed by oneor more processors of a first server, cause the one or more processorsto perform operations comprising: receiving, by the first server of asecure multi-party computation (MPC) system and from a client device, adigital component request; identifying, for each digital component in aset of digital components, a selection value for the digital componentand a priority tier for the digital component; for each of a pluralityof priority tiers: determining, using a secure MPC process incollaboration with one or more second servers of the secure MPC system,a first secret share of a winner parameter for each digital component inthe priority tier, comprising: determining, for each digital componentin the priority tier, a first secret share of a candidate parameter thatindicates whether the digital component is a candidate for selection;and determining a secret share of the winner parameter for each digitalcomponent in the priority tier based on (i) the first secret share of avalue of the candidate parameter for each digital component in thepriority tier, (ii) one or more second secret shares of the candidateparameter for each digital component in the priority tier, and theselection value for each digital component in the priority tier;identifying a highest tier of the plurality of tiers for which a givendigital component has a winner parameter that indicates that the givendigital component is a winning digital component for the tier; andproviding, to the client device, a first secret share of a selectionresult identifying the given digital component.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein determining, usingthe secure MPC process in collaboration with one or more second serversof the secure MPC system, the first secret share of the winner parameterfor each digital component in the priority tier comprises determiningthe first secret share of the winner parameter for each digitalcomponent in each priority tier in parallel.
 21. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein determining, usingthe secure MPC process in collaboration with one or more second serversof the secure MPC system, the first secret share of the winner parameterfor each digital component in the priority tier comprises determiningthe first secret share of the winner parameter for each digitalcomponent in each priority tier in a sequence from a highest prioritytier to a lowest priority tier.
 22. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 19, wherein determining, for each digitalcomponent in the priority tier, a first secret share of a candidateparameter that indicates whether the digital component is a candidatefor selection comprises determining, in collaboration with each of theone or more second servers, the first secret share of the candidateparameter for a particular digital component based on secret shares forone or more conditions for the particular digital component.